Scottish Enterprise has withdrawn a £2.5 million grant that was pivotal to an £11 million Rolls-Royce project aimed at creating a specialist submarine welding facility on the Clyde. The site was poised to support Royal Navy submarine construction and maintenance, lower industry costs, and boost carbon efficiency. Rolls-Royce says the project can’t proceed without public backing, citing a Scottish Government rule that bars funding for anything it now classifies as “munitions,” a definition the firm argues wrongly covers nuclear-propulsion work unconnected to weapon systems.
Defence leaders and cross-party politicians have condemned the move, warning it will sideline high-value welding careers, dent Scotland’s industrial base, and send an unfriendly signal to other defence investors. With Faslane already central to the UK’s submarine fleet and recent shipbuilding successes like HMS Venturer, critics say the decision undercuts Scotland’s strategic potential. Rolls-Royce confirms it may relocate the equipment—and the associated jobs—elsewhere in the UK.
Source:
George Allison
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