RE: INFA20 May 2021 05:54
Campaigners urge Government to give £1.5bn supply ships deal to British workers
EXCLUSIVE: Ministers have vowed to relaunch the competition for the Fleet Solid Support vessels this spring
BY BEN GLAZE
21:00, 19 MAY 2021
Campaigners tonight piled pressure on ministers to hand a £1.5billion contract for three warships to a British consortium.
Industry insiders believe Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is poised to relaunch a tender for a trio of Fleet Solid Support vessels.
He previously said firms would be invited to apply for the bumper contract this spring.
The competition is set to become a tussle between a UK group of companies backed by the Keep Britain Afloat campaign – which includes Bab****, BAE Systems, Cammell Laird and Rolls-Royce – and Spanish rival Navantia.
It has teamed up with Belfast-based shipyard Harland & Wolff, which built the Titanic, to bid for the deal.
in October, Mr Wallace delighted campaigners by officially designating them as “warships” – meaning they can be built in Britain without allowing overseas firms to bid.
GMB union national officer Ross Murdoch said: "The restart of the procurement process is not just needed – it is long overdue.
“Ministers must end the delays that have dogged this programme because our yards are crying out for work.
“Ministers talk about supporting UK shipbuilding, but they are setting UK yards against each other.
“Despite the grand words about making the UK into a ‘shipbuilding superpower,’ there is still no requirement that the bulk of the work will be fulfilled domestically.