A SECURITY pact between the UK, US and Australia is expected to benefit Barrow.

The agreement, announced last night, will let Australia build nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.

The first programme of the AUKUS alliance will be the construction of a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines for the Australian navy, with American and British companies due to part in the manufacturing process.

BAE Systems staff in Barrow are expected to be involved in the designing and building of the submarines.

Furness MP Simon Fell welcomed the announcement.

He said: "This deal is great news - not just for Barrow, but also for our shared security challenges.

"We don't have the detail yet, but I hope that should mean good investment into the community and shipbuilding programme and increased resilience for our ability to deliver boats to time and budget." 

Downing Street hailed the agreement as a "landmark defence and security partnership" and said it would "protect and defend our shared interests in the Indo-Pacific".

Officials said working closer together would allow for an increase in technology sharing and "foster deeper integration of security and defence-related science, technology, industrial bases and supply chains".