A DEFENSE project for three new Royal Navy ships should be awarded to British shipyards rather than Spain, Liz Truss has been warned.
The lucrative project is worth £1.6 billion for ships whose missions include supplying Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers with goods such as ammunition and food.
The contract competition is between a UK-based bid including Babcock and a consortium led by Navantia, a Spanish state-owned company.
Campaigners say awarding the Fleet Solid Support deal abroad would run counter to the government’s own shipbuilding strategy, which promised to support homegrown jobs and the defense sector.
The UK proposal would protect 2,000 jobs and another 4,000 in the supply chain.
There would also be a £650 million windfall for the Treasury in direct and indirect taxes.
A ministerial decision is expected in the spring.
Ex-Defense minister and Labor MP Kevan Jones said last night: “If Liz Truss wants to support growth, she needs to support the UK consortium and get them built here.”
Ian Waddell, Secretary General of the CSEU Shipbuilding Union, said: “Liz Truss must make a huge decision in the coming weeks about this critical defense project.
“Is she giving £1.6 billion in British taxpayers’ money to a Spanish state-owned company?
Or will she support Team UK’s bid and spend this money to support British shipbuilding at a time of rising international tensions and secure thousands of skilled British jobs.
“We urge her today to stand up for Britain and ensure that these crucial ships are built here in the UK – and to honor the government’s promise in its recent National Shipbuilding Strategy to deliver a globally successful , to build an innovative and sustainable shipbuilding industry.”