The Ministry of Defence has insisted it has no plans to change the policy of only building warships in the UK, despite reports that the head of the Royal Navy has suggested work could be done abroad.
First Sea Lord Admiral Sir George Zambellas is reported to have said he had not "necessarily said that that's the British industry" that must deliver on issues of affordability.
Defence contracts were a key issue in the run-up to September's independence referendum, with pro-union politicians claiming Scotland's shipbuilding industry would automatically be precluded from MoD deals in future if it left the UK.
SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson said the First Sea Lord's comments "puts the lie to yet another Project Fear scare story rolled out during the referendum".
Mr Robertson said: "Time after time we were told by the No campaign that warships could only be built in the UK. The best place to build these frigates is on the Clyde and everybody knows that.
"It would be a serious breach of trust if this is now being reconsidered - Scotland needs and deserves this work."
Industry publication Defense News reported that the First Sea Lord, who is the Royal Navy's professional head, had raised the prospect of contracts being awarded to other countries.
It reported him as stating: "The acquisition process looks for a solution... to be able to give us what we need. The affordability question that comes from that depends on the best that industry can deliver. You'll notice, I haven't necessarily said that that's the British industry, because the decision has not been made as to exactly what that solution to the requirement will be, and we wait to see what comes of it."
That was refuted by a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman, who stated: "As the Defence Secretary has made very clear, complex UK warships are only built in UK shipyards and we have no plans to change this. And while this contract has not yet been awarded, we have also been clear that from 2015 the Clyde will be the UK's only shipyard that builds complex warships."
Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said: "Our position is clear. The UK builds its warships within the UK, and always has done.
"The MoD has today said it does not anticipate any change to this policy in respect of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship. The only damaging change for shipbuilding in Scotland would have come from independence. We saw, at every point in the referendum, that the Scottish Government had absolutely no answers on its future. We know the expertise and skills in Scotland are world-class and I am confident they will win through."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article