Shipyard help on offer after memo leak

Scottish secretary to visit threatened dock

By Scott Macnab

Published:

Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy offered UK Government support to shipyard workers yesterday after a leaked memo reportedly suggested the MoD could scale back the building of warships.

Mr Murphy said he would visit a closure-threatened BVT shipyard in Scotstoun, Glasgow.

His promise came after reports said two of the firm’s British shipyards could close.

It prompted an angry reaction from union leaders.

Mr Murphy said: “I have cleared my ministerial diary so I can visit BVT and make it clear to the workers there that this government will continue to support them.

“We have already delivered a prosperous present for the Clyde yards – I want to make sure we deliver a prosperous future.”

The memo said the MoD was willing to finance redundancies to scale down Britain’s capacity for building warships.

It showed BVT Surface Fleet’s chief executive Alan Johnston forecasting savings of as much as half a billion pounds from the closure of two out of the three yards after the contract for two aircraft carriers is completed in 2014.

The memo setting out the plans was reportedly sent from the chief executive of the Govan and Scotstoun yards in Glasgow to senior executives at owner BVT Surface Fleet which also has an operation in Portsmouth.

Mr Murphy added: “The shipbuilding industry in Scotland is in its strongest position for a generation.

“This government has shown a significant and ongoing commitment to the industry in Scotland and there is absolutely no prospect of that lessening.”

GMB Scotland senior organiser Jim Moohan said yesterday the news had come as a “massive shock”.

He accepted the problems in the industry and limitations on “capacity and money” available, but said the challenge was to save the yards.

opportunity

“If I’ve got five years’ notice to try and save an industry or protect it, then that gives me and others an opportunity to do so,” he said.

The firm employs 7,000 workers at the two Glasgow yards and Portsmouth, as well as at another location in Bristol.

A BVT spokesman said that he could “not deny” that a memo existed.

However, he said that the company was not expecting to close any facilities in the “foreseeable” future.