The £5 million will sustain around 100 jobs over the middle of 2019 and comes at time when Prospect has been expressing serious concerns about the lack of work coming into the yard as a result of decisions on timings and procurement policies taken by the MoD.

Prospect Negotiations Officer Jane Rose explained "We've seen a steady reduction in staffing numbers at Rosyth over the last year as work on the Navy's other carrier HMS Prince of Wales nears completion. It's really good news that HMS Queen Elizabeth will return home for this maintenance work, but we do need to see more commitment from the MoD to British yards to ensure that skills and sovereign capability are retained"

Prospect's senior officer in Scotland Richard Hardy added "it's great news and one we've been working toward with local parliamentarians and through contacts with the Scottish Government, but the bigger issue here is making sure that the Rosyth dry dock has work to keep it from closing before Queen Elizabeth's next planned refit. We need the UK government to review it's decision on competing the contract for  the Fleet Solid Support ships (FSS) which will support and replenish the carriers at sea internationally, and we need a proper commitment from the UK government to their own National Shipbuilding Strategy. But for today let's celebrate this bit of good news and we look forward to seeing HMS Queen Elizabeth come home later in the year"