Clyde warship project ‘vital’ to defend Britain

Mr Fallon was at the BAE shipyard in Govan, Glasgow, to “cut the steel” on the latest warship project there, the construction of the patrol vessel HMS Medway. He also was given an update on the progress of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.

The US has recently urged European countries to do more to defend themselves against increased military activity from Russian premier Vladimir Putin’s armed forces and the growing unrest in the Middle East.

Mr Fallon said: “We have the fifth-biggest defence budget in the world, the biggest in Europe but the United States wants all European countries to do more. We face, across the world, terrorism, piracy, drug smuggling, so it’s very important that we keep our Navy up.

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