SHIPYARD workers have hit out at the government for shortlisting four non-British firms for a Royal Navy project worth £1 billion.

The GMB union has slammed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) decision to shortlist Italian, Japanese, South Korean and Spanish firms for building fleet support vessels.

The union claims that the deal is unfair, as the companies have received far more support from their respective governments than any British firm.

In the case of Daewoo, the South Korean government maintains a shipbuilding investment fund worth almost £1bn, while Spanish company Navantia is entirely owned by the Spanish state.

The announcement comes amid crisis in the industry in Britain, with Appledore shipyard in Devon confirming its closure in March next year and Cammell Laird shipbuilders in Birkenhead on strike over planned job losses.

The GMB warns that the latest announcement puts potentially 1,800 more jobs at risk.

GMB national officer and CSEU Maritime chair Ross Murdoch said: “It’s outrageous that this crucial order is being put out to artificially subsidised overseas companies when jobs are being lost in the UK.

“Ministers have the power to provide a future for workers in our historic yards such as Appledore and Cammell Laird, where highly skilled jobs are under threat.

“It’s a mockery of competition to force UK firms to compete with artificially subsidised companies overseas. These factors must be accounted for by the MoD when it evaluates bids for the fleet solid support order.

“Shipbuilding communities are feeling a profound sense of betrayal. They were promised a ‘red, white and blue’ Brexit. Instead, their jobs are being sold down the river.”