BAE Systems in 'final phase' of talks over multi-billion-pound deal - report

BAE is already building three Type 26 models at its Govan shipyard in Glasgow under a £3.7bn deal signed in 2017. But the government has until now not confirmed details of a new contract for five more of the warships - designed to provide ultra-quiet capabilities in the North Sea.

According to the Daily Mail, the next prime minister could sign off the project within months of taking office with frontrunner Liz Truss pledging to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP.

Sir Simon Lister, managing director of naval ships for BAE, told the Daily Mail that Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine had created an "increased sense of purpose".

"We've been in negotiation with the Ministry of Defence for the last 18 months. There's an intensity that builds towards the end. We're in the final phase of that negotiation but it hasn't yet concluded," he said.

Asked if Russia's attack on Ukraine had spurred on the talks, he said: "I would say that the Ukrainian invasion has given us all an increased sense of purpose in general.

"But the intensity of the negotiations was there before.

"The requirement for this anti-submarine capability pre-dates that Ukrainian invasion and has been felt very strongly in the shipbuilding community and in the MoD for some time."