On behalf of 20,000 specialists working in defence, Steve Jary, Prospect national secretary, said: "We believe it was a mistake to take fast jet maintenance away from skilled, loyal staff and give it to a combination of military RAF technicians and private firms.

"We are delighted to hear that the Committee shares this view and we join it in calling for the decision to be the subject of an independent review before work on the Tornado is moved out of St Athan.

"We also share the Committee's astonishment that the decision to spend over £100m of public money on Red Dragon went ahead despite fears about its viability.

"As well as the scandal over the cost, we are saddened that while the Ministry of Defence was leading staff at St Athan to believe that they had a promising future, it was at the same time plotting to put them out of work."