Nicola Sturgeon pledged yesterday Scottish government help to find new jobs for 800 Clydeside shipbuilders who face the BAE axe in the coming week.

Deputy First Minister Ms Sturgeon and Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney held what they described as "constructive discussions" with BAE Systems bosses and union officials about the hundreds of shipbuilding job losses announced by the firm.

"Eight hundred job losses in any context is a significant blow and we need to make sure that people have the support required," Ms Sturgeon said.

BAE plans to put 1,775 people out of work, with 835 redundancies in Glasgow, Rosyth and Filton, near Bristol, and the remaining 940 in Portsmouth.

Ms Sturgeon said there was demand for the Clyde shipbuilders' skills in other sectors.

"This is a highly skilled workforce and one of the things we're keen to stress, as is the company and the trade unions, is that there are other companies, other organisations out there, that have a demand for the kind of skills that we will see affected here," she said.

"We want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to bring the supply of skills and the demand for them together."

Mr Swinney said there might be opportunities in renewables or the oil and gas industry for some of the Clyde workforce.

Ms Sturgeon continued to insist that warships could be built in Scotland even if the country becomes independent.

"I think the Clyde is the best place to build the Type 26 frigates we are talking about and I think that is the case regardless of the referendum next year," she said.

Meanwhile trade unions in Portsmouth have announced plans for a rally next week to kickstart a fight to save their shipyard.

John Woods of Portsmouth Trades Union Council said: "It's appalling news - it's simply not acceptable, there will be a fight and I think we will win.

"We want to ensure that the shipyard stays open and we firmly believe that not a single job should be lost."