A £2.6 billion contract has secured 1,500 jobs at the Clyde naval base which is home to the UK's nuclear deterrent, the Defence Secretary has said.

Michael Fallon said the "huge" deal would give long-term security to workers at the Faslane base, where the Trident nuclear submarines are stationed.

However, the SNP hit out at the move to spend "billions more to keep weapons of mass destruction in Scotland" and said the party wanted instead to secure a long-term future for Faslane by investing in it as a conventional naval base. Babcock, which manages the base there and the Devonport base in Plymouth, has been awarded the £2.6bn repair and maintenance contract to support the Navy fleet.

Mr Fallon said: "This is the second biggest defence contract placed by this Government and reflects our commitment to giving our armed forces what they need to keep Britain safe."

A statement from Babcock said the new contract reinforced its position "as the UK's leading naval support business".

The announcement comes less than two weeks after the independence referendum, in which Scots voted by 55 per cent to 45 per cent to stay in the United Kingdom.

With the SNP campaigning to remove Trident submarines from Scotland in the event of a vote for independence, pro-UK campaigners had warned voting Yes would put thousands of jobs at the Faslane base and in the surrounding area under threat.

But Mr Fallon told BBC Radio Scotland last month's referendum had showed it was only a minority who backed the weapons being removed.

"A majority voted to stay in the UK and all parts of the UK benefit from the nuclear deterrent," the Defence Secretary told the Good Morning Scotland programme.

"Those submarines keep us all safe - Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland."

Angus Robertson MP, the SNP Westminster leader and defence spokesman, said: "It hasn't taken long for the Tories to pledge to spend billions more to keep their weapons of mass destruction in Scotland following the referendum. It is one thing the unionist parties can agree on - that nuclear missiles should be dumped on the Clyde at absolutely enormous expense - and they are getting on just fine with that vow, even as more savage cuts are planned at Westminster.

"The SNP wants a secure long term future for Faslane - investing in it as a conventional naval base. Instead of hosting these obscene nuclear weapons designed for the Cold War - Faslane should be a 21st-century facility for its naval defence needs now and in the future - not a nuclear dumping ground."

Mr Fallon said that in "an increasingly dangerous world" it would be "folly" for the UK to unilaterally disarm.

"This is one of the longest contracts we're placing and it's a huge contract, so it's confirmation that the Clyde will be one of our most important naval bases for years to come."

Jim Moohan, the Scotland Senior organiser for the GMB union and chair of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), said: "The award of this contract pays a massive compliment to the skills and expertise of the workforce on the Clyde.

"It also underlines the importance of the partnership between Babcock and BAE Systems which GMB considers provides the basis to sustain long term job security and helps the transfer of skills into the next generation while adjusting to the on-going work programme. With the carrier programme and the Type 26 orders this order seals the commitment to UK defence jobs."