Aircraft carrier contracts in the balance
MORE than 100 contracts totalling around £1.25bn have been awarded to firms - including several on Teesside - for the construction of the two new aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, figures have revealed.
Doubts have been raised over whether the Westminster coalition Government will press ahead with a £5bn plan for the two Royal Navy warships being built at Rosyth and on the Clyde.
BAE systems chief executive Sir Ian King told the Defence Select Committee in the Commons last week that the company was asked to consider a number of options ranging from ‘‘one carrier to no carriers’’.
Teesside companies which have secured contracts with the carriers include Stockton’s McGill Services - which won a £25m contract to build 950 cabins and wet areas for the carriers - and Stillington-based Darchem.
The figures were obtained by Thomas Docherty, Labour MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, and show that ‘‘equipment sub-contract’’ orders placed between November 2006 to June 2010 were awarded to 68 different companies across 60 UK parliamentary constituencies.
HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are due to launch in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
A defence spending review is under way, and Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox is expected to make an announcement at the end of October.
