Live and let fly James Bond chopper firm awaits decision on £1bn deal

The Merlin helicopter sitting on a factory floor in Yeovil is a sight familiar to James Bond aficionados from the climactic shootout of the 2012 film Skyfall.

- Jasper Jolly

Workers at the Somerset factory are upgrading the aircraft for the Canadian air force, a lucrative source of income for its owner, the Italian state-backed weapons maker Leonardo.

But Leonardo has its eyes on a bigger prize for Yeovil: after a drawn-out process, it has emerged as the single bidder for a £1bn contract to build new mediumsized helicopters to replace the Pumas used for decades by the Royal Air Force.

Yet with the UK carrying out a strategic defence review, some in the industry believe the purchase could be scrapped altogether by a government that has stressed the gloomy state of the public finances.

What happens next matters hugely for Britain's last remaining helicopter factory, Yeovil, and Britain's defence industry. In a local population of about 50,000 people - with several areas in the 20% most deprived wards in England Leonardo employs 3,300, many at above-average pay for the area.