The GMB trade union says it welcomes the news the first of the new Type 26 frigates will be called HMS Glasgow, after the city that will build the first of the new ships.

Ross Murdoch, GMB National Officer and chairman of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, said: “It is fantastic news — particularly on the day the steel was cut in preparation for her construction — that the first of the eight Type 26 Frigates is to be named HMS Glasgow.

“The last ship to bear this name was involved in the 1982 Falklands conflict; but more than just the name itself, the use of British steel to build these ships is something we have been continually pushing for.”