THE Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that COVID-19 will only cause “minimal” disruption to the dismantling of decommissioned submarines at Rosyth.

The promise comes after a written question lodged by MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, Douglas Chapman, who asked if the pandemic had caused the project to be delayed.

It comes after years of stop-start commitments from the MoD with the submarines costing the UK taxpayer £30million-a-year, just to keep them in storage at docks across the UK – despite them being decommissioned in the 1980s.

The project has already suffered from serious delays after targets to dismantle some subs by 2023 were missed and pushed back to 2026.

Mr Chapman commented: “I asked this question of the MoD as I know all too well of the delays and excuses for this project being delayed for decades. We cannot afford for millions of pounds to continue to be wasted on seeing these subs languish in the Forth; they must be cleared away as soon as possible.

“This will also present an opportunity for the UK Government to create employment in Dunfermline and West Fife and utilise the fantastic skills we have on show here.

“I will be keeping an eye on the progress of the dismantling process to make sure the MoD follow-up with their promise that disruption will be kept to a minimum.”

The announcement that coronavirus would only cause minimal disruption to the dismantling was made by Defence Minister Jeremy Quin.

He stated: “We are working closely with our industry partners to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on our submarine programmes.

“It is currently estimated that there is likely to be minimal impact on the overall timescale to dismantle the decommissioned nuclear submarines in Rosyth.”