THE UK Government has been accused of threatening people's livelihoods for political ends after Coalition ministers suggested the future of shipbuilding on the Clyde would be in jeopardy if Scots voted Yes in the independence referendum.

The row erupted after BAE Systems unveiled plans to cut 835 jobs in ­Scotland but keep both the Govan and Scotstoun yards open. Shipbuilding will cease at Portsmouth in the second half of next year with the loss of 940 jobs, bringing to an end hundreds of years of history.

At the same time BAE said the Clyde was its choice for a lucrative contract to build Type 26 frigates.

But Tory-LibDem ministers indicated that contract would be awarded after the referendum and only if Scotland remained part of the UK.

Asked if the order would go to an ­independent Scotland, LibDem Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said: "No, of course not. Unless for some reason - which we have not seen so far - the rest of the UK were to tender outside, but at that point Scotland would be in direct competition with Poland, South Korea, Singapore and all the rest."

Deputy First Minister Nicola ­Sturgeon warned the Coalition Government "should not be playing politics with people's jobs" while SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson described Mr Carmichael's comments as "absurd".

"The UK Government has now agreed with BAE Systems that Govan and Scotstoun are the best and most effective locations to build the new generation of Type 26 ships," he said. "It would be impossible for a Westminster government to justify cutting off its nose to spite its face by deciding to move the work to somewhere which it officially states is less effective."

Mr Robertson added: "It is plain daft for a UK government minister to say it would be difficult to have ships built in Scotland just because we exercise our democratic right to vote Yes, when the MoD has procured vessels from Korea."

Coalition sources said that because of legal exemptions, which help protect defence jobs, the UK would want to place its contracts with UK shipyards. Mr Carmichael insisted that the decision was about "law not politics".

Unions denounced yesterday's job losses - which affect workers in Portsmouth, Glasgow, Rosyth and Filton, near Bristol - as a "devastating blow" to the industry. The grim news was given to workers at a series of morning ­meetings at the affected sites.

In an emergency statement to MPs, Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond said the loss of such a significant number of jobs was "regrettable, but it was always going to be inevitable".

The cuts follow a drop after a peak in work on the massive aircraft carriers being built on the Clyde.

As well as the Type 26 announcement, Coalition ministers revealed plans to buy three new Navy offshore patrol vessels to be built on the Clyde. Mr Hammond said this would bridge the gap until work was due to start on the Type 26 warships.

Coalition ministers insisted all ­decisions had been made by BAE and were based on commercial considerations. But that was rejected by a number of English MPs last night, who accused the Government of playing politics ahead of the referendum.

Caroline Dinenage, the Tory MP for Gosport, said ministers had "definitely" sacrificed Portsmouth workers.

Mr Hammond told MPs every effort would be made to redeploy workers and that compulsory redundancies would be kept to a minimum. He also announced he had renegotiated the multi-billion pound carriers contract to ensure industry picks up the bill for half of all future cost increases.

David Hulse, chairman of the ­Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions' shipbuilding national committee, said: "There is no doubt that this is a devastating day for the UK shipbuilding industry and the company will have to justify to us the job losses planned."

STUC general secretary Grahame Smith said: "This very disappointing announcement will inevitably exacerbate the worry and stress workers and their families were already experiencing as they considered their job security post completion of the carriers. The loss of skilled, well-paid manufacturing jobs is also a major blow to the Glasgow economy at a time when its employment rate is fully 20% below Scotland's best-performing regions."

Earlier Mr Hammond had told MPs the Type 26 contract would not be signed until after the independence vote - but he insisted the decision was not related to the referendum. He said he could not sign off on the ships until the final design stage at the end of next year.

Aides to Mr Hammond said the Type 26 warships "have to be built in the UK".

Speaking at PMQs, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "No-one should be in any doubt of two things: under this Government we will have aircraft carriers, Type 45 destroyers, the new ­frigates, the hunter-killer submarines.

"And there's something else they should know: if there was an independent Scotland we wouldn't have any warships at all."