Three-quarters of the staff at Woodford work on Nimrod

An MP claims a BAE Systems plant in Greater Manchester "is effectively doomed" after production of a military aircraft was halted.

Production stopped on the Nimrod on Wednesday at the Woodford factory, near Stockport, after costs spiralled by �500m.

Cheadle MP Patsy Calton (Lib Dem) said Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources had painted a grim picture for the plant, where 500 of the 750-strong workforce work on Nimrod.

It comes as BAE Systems announced a 27% fall in profits.

The firm has a multi-million pound contract to build 18 Nimrods for the MoD.

But the project has run into major technical difficulties resulting in massive overspends.

Unless further contracts come... Woodford is effectively doomed Patsy Calton, MP for Cheadle

BAE is currently working on three prototype Nimrods and, although Woodford will continue work on them, the future of the remaining 15 is uncertain.

Mrs Calton said: "The future of the site now is in some question.

"I understand that the Government and the MoD is saying that they will expect the three remaining Nimrods which are going to be built to be assessed before they even place the contract for the further 15.

"Woodford is not going to hang around for that to happen in my belief.

"Unless further contracts come, and I very much hope that further contracts will come, then Woodford is effectively doomed."

A BAE spokesman said on Thursday that the decision to halt production would have consequences for manning levels at all of the Nimrod sites.

But he added that no decision had yet been made.