BOLTON'S three MPs have joined the fight to try to save jobs in Bolton by backing BAe Systems' bid for a £10 billion contract.

Ruth Kelly, Brian Iddon and David Crausby have highlighted the need for the company to win the right to build two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy.

Government minister Ms Kelly has written to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon -- who claimed recently that BAe Systems was no longer British -- in a bid to protect jobs in Bolton.

Mr Hoon told journalists at a briefing in London that the majority foreign share ownership of BAe Systems meant it was no longer a British company. His comments raised fears about job security among union leaders who represent the firm's 50,000 UK workers.

The contract decision could affect Bolton-based Leigh Paints, which carries out work on Royal Navy ships, and Power Prep International, which provides specialist cleaning equipment. They could benefit as sub-contractors if BAe builds the aircraft carriers.

Ms Kelly, MP for Bolton West, is concerned that the £10 billion contract for the aircraft carriers could be handed to French-based defence firm Thales. She made contact with Mr Hoon before his controversial comments.

She said: "I have already written to the Ministry of Defence outlining the possible impact that this BAe bid would have on jobs in Bolton and throughout the North-west, but ultimately it is up to BAe to put forward the best case possible for the bid and I urge them to concentrate on doing this."

BAe Systems, formerly British Aerospace, is bidding against Thales for the contract. The two carriers would replace the Illustrious, Invincible and Ark Royal, which left for the Gulf at the weekend. The ships would be four times bigger than the ships they will replace and are expected to be in service for 50 years.

A decision on the contract is expected by the end of the month.

The headquarters of BAe Systems is in Hampshire. The company has a British chairman and chief executive, and shares most of its British contracts with a supplier base of 14,000 UK companies.

Thales is believed to be planning to pass just three per cent of the work to the North-west if it wins the contract.