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."
Chalk said the vessels would be very “cost effective” and “future-proof”. He added: “It was so good to welcome those nations from around the world who see real potential in this general-purpose frigate. And that’s why I think it’s good for Scotland, it’s good for British manufacturing, for the security of our country and that of our allies.”
The minister said the UK had to be inter-operable with allies in light of the ongoing situation in Ukraine and revealed the Polish Navy was “very interested” in the vessel. But it remains unclear as to whether the UK Government will commit to the £2.5billion plan to build five new Type 32 frigates at Rosyth shipyard - following reports that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt plans to divert funding elsewhere.
The order to make Britain "the foremost naval power in Europe" was announced two years ago by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Work on the frigates is supposed to begin in 2028. The project was to employ more than 1,200 staff and help retain thousands of jobs in the supply chain.
But they could be dropped in this spring's defence review. Current work on Type 26 frigates at BAE Systems Clyde yards and Type 31 frigates at Babcock's Rosyth yards will start to wind down in the second half of this decade.
Babcock has also created 250 new production support operative roles to work on the ship and beyond with a focus on recruiting people not already in education, employment or training.
The ceremony comes just 16 months after the steel was cut on the first ship, HMS Venturer. David Lockwood, chief executive of Babcock International, said it was “fantastic” to see the steel being cut on the HMS Active.
He said: “This site did a truly astonishing job through Covid on a critical programme that held to schedule. It developed new ways of working. So to be able to cut steel on the day we intended, with all that going on, is a huge compliment to everyone.”
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