THE arguments about shipbuilding on the Clyde featured prominently during the 2014 referendum campaign, with the No side stating that in an independent Scotland the 13 Type 26 warships for the Royal Navy would not be constructed in yards in a foreign country.
Now the leader of the SNP is contending that a pledge has been broken since work on the Type 26 programme has been delayed (“Tory leader accused of 'telling porky' on warships”, The Herald, May 2).
The leader of the SNP has to acknowledge that the scenario has changed since 2014. In the 2016 Strategic Defence and Security Review the order for the Type 26 warships was reduced from 13 to eight. However, to provide a measure of continuity between the completion of the two aircraft carriers in Rosyth and the beginning of work on the Type 26 project, three River Class offshore patrol vessels would be built on the Clyde.
Discussions are apparently ongoing between the Ministry of Defence and BAe Systems to reduce the ever-increasing unit cost of a Type 26 frigate, hence an unfortunate delay in starting construction.
However regrettable this delay in terms of job security, the SNP and the unions must accept that the Ministry of Defence's top priority is the defence of the realm and is not directly responsible for implementing a seamless job creation programme.
Ronald J Sandford,
1 Scott Garden, Kingsbarns.
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