The future of British shipbuilding

The construction of two new aircraft carriers in Britain brings an economic boost to the southern English city of Portsmouth and other shipbuilding areas. The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth 3.2 billion pounds with BVT Surface Fleet, the shipbuilding joint venture between BAE Systems and VT Group. Construction of the two carriers will secure around ten thousand jobs across Britain, two thousand of which are in Portsmouth, where the carriers will eventually be based. This contract comes at the right time to safeguard these jobs, amid fears of a possible recession in Britain. Joanna Partridge reports