CONFIRMATION that five type 31e warships ordered by the Ministry of Defence will not be built on the Clyde was described as a betrayal by opposition MPs and unions last night.

SNP Defence spokesperson Stewart McDonald MP said the announcement of a partnership between BAE Systems and Birkenhead-based Camell Laird was a “slap in the face for the Clyde yards”.

Representatives of workers at BAE Systems said the news meant promises to the workforce had been broken.

The announcement by BAE Systems of a partnership agreement with Birkenhead-based Cammell Laird to bid jointly for the £1.25bn contract put an end to hopes that the five frigates might still be built in Scotland.

The company is upbeat about prospects and says a separate order for three type 26 anti-submarine warfare vessels will keep its order book full until the 2030s, while the company will also be contributing designs, engineering and armament systems to the type 31es. Iain Stevenson, Managing Director, BAE Systems Naval Ships, said agreement with Camell Laird would allow the companies to bid jointly for the new general purpose frigates: “Our expertise in warship design and engineering, combat management systems and export campaigns means we are in a great position to contribute to the success of this programme,” he said.

John Syvre Cammell Laird CEO, said the bid would ensure the ships were UK-built. “We will offer a UK warship design, a UK combat system, a UK build and a supply chain with high UK content, “ he added.

Under the deal, Cammell Laird, will build and assemble the vessels, drawing on design and engineering expertise from BAE Systems, while the bid is also expected to make use of BAE armaments systems.

However the companies said it would also allow the first three type 26 frigates to be delivered on time and on budget.

BAE systems said existing work would keep the Clyde shipbuilding capacity full until the mid 2030s. However Mr McDonald claimed the Government was jeopardising the future of shipbuilding on the Clyde.

He said: “We have the skills, the expertise, the infrastructure in Scotland - but what we have also had is years of promises from Westminster - that have been broken.

“A key component of a steady stream of work for Scottish shipbuilding is this new T31e smaller frigate. So the suggestion they will be built elsewhere is of real concern.”

He said the UK Government had originally pledged 13 Type 26 frigates would be built on the Clyde, but had now dropped the planned figure to eight with only three guaranteed to be built by BAE Systems.

Duncan McPhee, a senior shop steward with Unite at BAE systems Scotstoun yard said of the partnership deal: “We are not happy, these are ships we would have expected to be built on the Clyde. As far as we are concerned they should have been part of the 13 ship package we were clearly promised.”

He said the pledges had been made when the workforce were urged to accept restructuring at the cost of nearly 2000 jobs on the Clyde and in Portsmouth in order to equip BAE systems for the future.

“We were told then we would have the order for 13 frigates. Now we are down to eight and the five cut-price frigates, which will not be built here.

“The Government has come out with a bizarre national shipbuilding strategy, trying to create internal competition in a replication of failed policies of the 1980s. This will put at risk the ability of the Clyde yard to be a centre for complex naval shipbuilding,” he said.

Chris Stephens, SNP MP for Southwest Glasgow said the announcement was a smokescreen to cover the fact that contracts for huge support vessels are set to be put out to international tender.

However Labour MP Paul Sweeney said he was still hopeful. “I can understand why BAE have done this. But Cammell Laird have still to demonstrate they are able to do this work,” he said.

“Our position is still all complex warships should be built on the Clyde that’s what we will be pushing for,” he said.

A spokesman for the MoD said the Government’s procurement strategy would help boost jobs, and growth in shipyards and supply chains across the UK