Defence Minister Quentin Davies has told STV news that he hopes the government will be able to guarantee the future of shipbuilding on the Clyde for the next 15 years.

It comes as the Princess Royal marked the start of construction work at the BVT Surface Fleet yard at Govan on the first of the UK's biggest ever warship.

The vessel is the first of two in the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. The ship, to be named HMS Queen Elizabeth, is due to enter service in 2014 while the second ship, HMS Prince Of Wales, should enter service in 2016. Five hundred new apprentices have been taken on for the project.

They will be the biggest and most powerful surface warships ever constructed for the Royal Navy. The MoD says that the 65,000 tonne aircraft carriers will form the "cornerstone" of Britain's future ability to project military power worldwide, together with the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and the new Type 45 destroyers.

The Govan yard is one of several in the UK that will be involved in the building of the ships, including the Rosyth yard on the Forth.

The head of the Royal Navy says that the UK's shipbuilding industry has a "great future" as construction work began.

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band said: "Obviously I can't predict the exact size of the industry in 10 years' time but the fact that we have the capacity to build ships like these carriers means, I believe very firmly, that the British shipbuilding industry has a great future because very few people can do this sort of work."

On July the first concern for the long-term future of the yard emerged after a leaked memo reportedly showed plans that could see them closed within ten years.