The first steel has been cut for the UK’s newest warship, HMS Sheffield, at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard in Glasgow. 27-year-old apprentice fabricator burner, Michael Miller, carried out the ceremonial act. It marked the official start of construction on the fifth of eight ‘city class’ vessels and is a significant milestone for the programme and British shipbuilding as a whole.

Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle, attended the ceremony alongside a range of senior dignitaries from the UK Government, armed forces and industrial partners. All eight Type 26 frigates will be built on the Clyde, with the work sustaining nearly 2000 jobs in Scotland and 4000 jobs across the wider UK maritime supply chain for decades to come.

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