WITH five different managing directors taking the helm of the Barrow shipyard over the last 15 years we take a look at their time in charge.

Murray Easton CBE 2003-2009

The no-nonsense Scot born into a family of shipbuilders was a former managing director at Babcock and Scotstoun when he was brought in to replace Simon Kirby in March 2003.

Easton was brought in to rescue the Astute programme - £700m over budget and three years behind schedule and his success in turning the business around led to him being described as "a hero" by then Barrow MP John Hutton.

He announced his resignation in February 2009 just months before the company handed over the first Astute submarine to the Royal Navy.

John Hudson 2009-2013

The former engineering director, who had worked at the Barrow shipyard for 20 years, was described as "one of the UK's most respected and experienced naval engineers" when he took over in March 2009.

He left in 2013 at the age of 53 when he was promoted as managing director of BAE Systems Maritime, taking over from Andrew Davies, and going on to manage a £2bn turnover division with 14,000 staff.

His promotion saw Hudson go from being managing director of BAE Systems Maritime - Submarines to being responsible for the entire Maritime operation including naval ships.

Tony Johns 2013-2017

Bristol-born Johns served as a submariner for 28 years then worked for private equity firm Deloitte before he was head-hunted to work for BAE Systems in Barrow by his predecessor John Hudson. Johns took over as Successor programme director in 2010 and became managing director of the shipyard when Hudson was promoted in 2013.

He had always planned to leave the shipyard in 2017 and in an interview with The Mail ahead of his departure the then 55-year-old said he planned to "slow down a bit" and consider taking on a non-executive role.

Will Blamey January 2017 - January 2018

Originally from Mevagissey, a small fishing village on the south coast of Cornwall, Blamey joined British Aerospace in the aircraft division near Preston in 1997.

He joined the submarines business in 2001 before moving to Barrow in 2005 where he became the combat systems lead for the Astute-class programme. When Tony Johns took over from John Hudson in 2013 Blamey was appointed as Successor (Dreadnought) programme director.

Cliff Robson 2018 -

As former senior vice president of BAE's £960bn F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme, the world's most expensive single defence project, Robson brings vast experience of managing a complex Ministry of Defence contract.

He joins the shipyard following a secondment to Rolls-Royce, Astute/Dreadnought construction partner and manufacturer of submarine nuclear reactors.