MoD identifies possible UK sites for making explosives and ammunition

"The Ministry of Defence has been scouring Britain for places to build at least six new munitions factories as part of a 6bn programme to increase its supplies as part of a Nato-wide rearmament push. Emails released to the Ferret website show the MoD, the Department of Business and Trade and the Health and Safety Executive believe that at least four sites at Grangemouth, where the UK's oldest oil refinery closed earlier this year and several chemical companies have shut down, could be suitable."

"Other sites include the proposed BritishVolt battery plant near Newcastle, Milford Haven oil refinery in Wales, Workington and Ulverston in Cumbria, several places on Teesside including Seal Sands, and an oil terminal on Loch Long in Scotland, close to the MoD's underground bomb store at Glen Douglas, which is said to be the largest in Europe. The sites were inadvertently revealed when MoD officials failed to properly redact a freedom of information response about Grangemouth, allowing the blacked-out sections to be read."

"The MoD apologised, admitting it had breached the confidentiality of officials and its business partners. It said no decisions about sites had been taken, but that it was investing 1.5bn to build a series of always on munitions factories, creating about 1,000 jobs and ensuring defence is an engine for growth. The Scottish government said it was fully committed to playing its full part in the defence of the UK and its allies,"

Defence officials have identified at least a dozen disused oil refineries and chemical plants across Britain as potential sites to produce explosives and ammunition, including Grangemouth, Southampton and Teesside. The Ministry of Defence is seeking locations for at least six new munitions factories under a 6bn programme linked to a Nato-wide rearmament push. Several specific sites are named, spanning England, Scotland and Wales. A freedom of information response was improperly redacted, revealing the list and prompting an MoD apology and assurances that no final decisions have been made. The programme commits 1.5bn to build "always on" factories, creating about 1,000 jobs.

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