The Tories were yesterday accused of selling shipyard workers “down the river” by opening up a £1billion order for military ships to international tender.

Unions said 6700 jobs could be secured in British yards if the work was kept here and have slammed the decision to allow foreign firms to compete for orders involving ­military vessels.

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Work to build three Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships is pitting our yards against those in Germany, Italy, the ­Netherlands, Poland, South Korea and Spain.

The GMB union demanded a UK-only process that they said would create or secure up to 6700 jobs – 1800 in ­shipyards and 4700 more in the wider supply chain.

Failure to do so, they argued, would mean workers being “sold down the river”.

It is Ministry of Defence policy that only orders for warfighting ships such as the Type 26 frigates being built by BAE on the Clyde are reserved for UK yards.

Orders for ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary – the Mod’s civilian-manned fleet who support the Royal Navy – are put out to international tender.

The MoD said the order for three Fleet solid support vessels to service the new supercarriers will go out to full international tender on April 30.

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The contract for Fleet Tide-class tankers was awarded to Daewoo ­Shipbuilding of South Korea in 2012.

GMB National Officer for ­Shipbuilding, Ross Murdoch, said: ­“Ministers are not bound by normal EU rules on competitive tendering when it comes to military ships.

“We face being sold down the river if the work goes to ­subsidised ­international competitor shipyards.”

Labour MP Paul Sweeney, a former Clyde shipyard worker, said: “While foreign companies bidding for this work may enjoy financial support from their ­governments, the Tories pull the rug out from under British industry.”

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Firms in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea and Spain attended a recent Ministry of Defence industry day on the order, the GMB said.

The union estimate that £285million would be returned to the taxpayer through income tax, national insurance contributions and lower welfare payments if the ship orders were placed in the UK.

Chris Stephens MP, whose constituency covers BAE’s Govan shipyard, said: “They should be built on the same basis as the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, which would keep jobs and give the industry a boost.”

An MOD spokesman said: “All our warships are built in the UK, with the Type 26 frigates securing 4000 Scottish jobs and 20 years of work on the Clyde, and industry preparing to bid for the new Type 31e class.

“We are launching a competition for three Fleet solid support ships this year and strongly encourage British yards to take part.”