AN ATTEMPT to bring work to Rosyth Dockyard looks set to fail because the crew of a Royal Navy ship don’t want to come to Scotland, a trade union has claimed.

The news has emerged after the Rosyth operators Babcock warned that they will have to lay off 250 workers following the closure of the main construction phase of the aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

Trade union Prospect say transferring an already agreed overhaul of the Royal Navy’s only survey vessel, HMS Scott, to Rosyth from Devonport, could help save some jobs at the West Fife facility.

Richard Hardy, Prospect national secretary for Scotland, said: “On behalf of those members facing a bleak Christmas at the risk of redundancy, Prospect is more than disappointed at this decision by the MoD, which seems to be based on crew convenience, rather than any sensible economic or workload metrics.”

According to Prospect, Babcock is also bidding for a major package of work overhauling the Navy’s fleet of Type 45 destroyers, which will provide a substantial amount of work for a number of years.

“Any work coming into Rosyth will help stave off job losses,” added Mr Hardy. “HMS Scott will help, but the award of the Type 45 contract is a vital piece of the jigsaw in offsetting redundancies and securing the future of the yard.

“This is a strategic workforce and the other yards competing have much fuller order books than Rosyth, so it makes sense to award the work to Rosyth.

“We’re working positively with the senior team at Babcock and we will now start to lobby on this issue with our contacts in MoD, in Westminster and at Holyrood.”

Douglas Chapman, MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, said he planned to raise the issue with MoD bosses in the near future.

“It would be great to see more naval vessels in Rosyth either for construction, repair or re-fit,” he told the Press.

“Given that all six of the new Type 45 Royal Navy Destroyers are tied up in Portsmouth because they all have faults to be repaired means that the Royal Navy is currently understrength.

“Generally speaking, that’s around £6 billion worth of sea-going asset tied up alongside in a port doing nothing. I am sure people in this constituency would want them repaired and operational at sea.

“If bringing them to Rosyth for repair is in the best interests of the Scottish taxpayer, then that’s what should happen as the Royal Navy footprint in Scotland is way below what it should be given the huge amount of sea and coastline we have to protect.

“I’ve never known a situation where a crew of a Royal Navy vessel can dictate where their ship is deployed although it’s something I will raise with the First Sea Lord when I next meet with him.”

An MoD spokesperson said: “This is the subject of ongoing commercial negotiations, so it would be inappropriate to comment any further."