I spent yesterday morning welcoming the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, the Royal Navy’s flagship to Rosyth for a £40 million pound refit. After a journey out to see the carrier close up I was given a tour of the shipyard where I saw parts of the new carriers which are currently under construction at the yard.
The scale of these next generation of carriers is incredible, they are three times the size of Illustrious and bigger than anything the Navy has had for a long time.
The re-fit will create 300 jobs for people at Rosyth and the new carriers will create over 3,000 jobs at the yard.
This is great news for Shipbuilding in Scotland both here and the Clyde. As long as Scotland is part of the UK the Navy will build ships in Scottish yards, and like most Scots people that is something I want to continue to see.