KEVIN MAGUIRE: ‘Andy Burnham’s choice on Skynet future will show if he means pledge to reindustrialise UK’
Block a dangerous plan to surrender Britain’s military satellites to a US company or PM Andy Burnham effectively blows up his pledge to reindustrialise the nation.
His imminent ruling on the £2.4billion future of the crucial Skynet network will signal whether he’s really walking the bold talk. As many as 3,000 jobs in Portsmouth and Stevenage, plus potentially another 18,000 in the supply chain, are said by union Unite to be at stake on top of the nation’s security.
Which is why Downing Street will make the final decision on whether to stay true to Europe’s Airbus, which has built and operated Skynet since 1969, or gamble on a cheaper bid from American giant Lockheed Martin.
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Rubber-stamp the Ministry of Defence plan to switch the Skynet 6 contract to a US firm after Putin-admirer Elon Musk’s Starlink service dialled down coverage for invaded Ukraine, allowing Russian missiles to escape detection, and the national security row would be enormous.
Burnham, I’m told by people close to the discussions, is well aware of the pitfalls. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is worried about lost jobs, Lockheed Martin’s promise of a new factory in North East England unlikely to match mass redundancies.
Chancellor John Healey when Defence Secretary is said to have preferred sticking with Airbus, a company threatening to pull other work out of Britain if it loses Skynet, and doubted whether Lockheed could deliver on the price quoted.
As Unite leader Sharon Graham forcefully argues, Ministers keep saying buying British will be the default and Skynet 6 is the first real chance a Labour government under new management can prove it. The last Tory Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, coming out in favour of Airbus and against Lockheed is a consensus forming.
It’s Burnham’s big call. Get this wrong and vibes won’t wash, substance trouncing style. That’s why Labour MPs, Ministers and trade union comrades are urging him to walk that talk.
