The UK Government remains "absolutely" committed to building Type 31 frigates at Roysth Dockyard, a Tory minister has insisted.
Alex Chalk, the defence procurement minister, was at the Babcock-owned yard in Fife today to cut steel on the new HMS Active and denied the Type 31 programme would be cancelled under the defence spending review. But speculation has mounted the Type 32 programme previously announced by Boris Johnson could be axed.
Chalk said: "We are absolutely committed to building the Type 31s and the reason for that is because it is such a capable and modern ship, so it’s adaptable which means you no longer find yourself in a situation where you’ve got some incredibly expensive bit of kit doing humanitarian work. It can be configured for the mission you need to carry out."
