About 400 workers at Samlesbury work in the aerostructures division

The aerostructures division makes wing components for the likes of Airbus and Boeing and employs nearly 400 people at its base in Samlesbury, Lancashire.

BAE announced in December that it would be selling off the business, which also has a base in Prestwick, Ayrshire, employing about 1,000 people.

Workers from both plants hope to persuade managers at BAE's headquarters in the capital to reconsider the sale.

Neil Sheehan, from the Amicus union, said: "Workers in Samlesbury and Prestwick have turned the business around and made it one of the success stories of the company over the past couple of years.

Commercial move

"But BAE is saying that aerostructures is not part of the core business.

"There's a great deal of uncertainty. We know there has been a lot of interest in the business but we don't know who the potential buyers are.

"We are going down to London to see the chief executive Mike Turner with petitions from across BAE Systems with a view to asking them to review their position."

When the sell-off decision was announced, the UK Government said it was a commercial move but promised to monitor developments.