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Tanks for nothing, Mr Cameron... Britain is losing £1.4billion worth of Army vehicle contracts in a deal the PM promised would guarantee jobs in this country.

And outraged Labour peer and retired Royal Navy Admiral Lord West – who uncovered the figure – fears we could be “held to ransom” if we end up relying too heavily on foreign arms makers to equip our armed forces.

The Prime Minister grabbed the headlines by announcing the £3.5billion order for 589 Scout Specialist Vehicles at last year’s high-profile NATO summit in Newport, South Wales.

And he promised at the time that 1,300 jobs across the UK would be secured by the deal.

But now it has emerged 40% of the work will be done by overseas firms.

General Dynamics UK beat a rival bid by UK firm BAE systems for the deal.

And, although the engineering firm is based in South Wales, it is part of the international General Dynamics firm, based in Virginia in the US. BAE is a British-owned London-listed company worth £14billion and has subsidiaries in the US, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

A written Parliamentary question by Gordon Brown’s Minister for Security and Counter-Terrorism Lord West forced the Government to admit 40% of the work will be carried out overseas – meaning British firms will miss out on £1.4billion of contracts.

(Image: PA)

The former First Sea Lord said: “I was disappointed with the deal when it didn’t go to a British company.

“This is very unfortunate. We mustn’t do it in any other contracts.

“I’m a great believer in maintaining a defence industrial base in this country because it keeps the high-end, high-skilled jobs, and means we can’t be held to ransom by anyone else.”

Junior Defence Minister Earl Howe made the admission in a written answer slipped out just before ­Parliament’s summer break.

He said: “Many of the vehicles’ key sub-systems are designed and assembled here. Overall, 60% by value will be completed by UK manufacturers.”

Mr Cameron trumpeted the deal before last September’s Nato summit, attended by US president Barack Obama and other world leaders.

The PM said: “I’m delighted that on the eve of the Nato summit, we can announce the biggest single contract for AFVs (armoured fighting vehicles) for the British Army since the 1980s.

“Not only will they be crucial in helping to keep Britain safe, they will also underpin nearly 1,300 jobs across the UK and showcase the strength of the UK’s highly skilled defence sector.”

Experts say the Scouts offer beefed-up intelligence and surveillance and can defend themselves with highly-effective 40mm cannon. The first are expected to be delivered in 2017.

A General Dynamics UK spokeswoman said: “More than 160 UK-based firms form the Scout SV supply chain, with more than 2,600 jobs supported by this programme in the UK.”

The Ministry of Defence said: “We are assembling these vehicles in South Wales, supporting thousands of UK jobs and ensuring our servicemen and women have the very best equipment.”

And it's not the first time...

Ministers have found themselves under fire previously after lucrative Government contracts were handed to foreign firms.

There was uproar in 2013 when it emerged that just 6% of Army uniforms were being made in Britain under manufacturing deals worth £5million – while £75million of uniform production was outsourced to India, China and Eastern Europe.

A year earlier, the Royal Navy handed South Korean company Daewoo a £452million deal to build four new fuel tankers.

The 37,000-tonne Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability vessels will allow the Royal Navy to refuel at sea. UK companies took part in the tender for the work but the Ministry of Defence said none of them made a final bid.

And in 2011, the Conservatives drew serious flak after German manufacturing giant Siemens scooped a £1.6billion contract to provide new train carriages for the Thameslink route.

The Munich-based company fought off competition from Bombardier, which operates the UK’s last remaining train factory in Derby.