THE BRITISH High Commissioner has defended Barrow's ability to produce submarines for the Australian navy after a former defence minister warned the current government against buying from the UK. 

Vicki Treadell said Peter Dutton's comments were not helpful and she did not agree with them. 

The deadline day for when Australia will decide to commission submarines from the US, the UK, or both as part of the AUKUS agreement, is coming up in the next few weeks. 

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Last week the former defence minister, now leader of the Australian opposition Mr Dutton said: "The advice to me at the time was very clear: Barrow-in-Furness is obviously landlocked, it didn't have the ability to scale up."

Ms Treadell said she did not agree with Mr Dutton's point of view when she spoke to him on Tuesday.

She told reporters at the National Press Club in Canberra: "He is commenting on an outcome he doesn't yet know, there is a lot of speculation, everyone is entitled to speculate. 

"The fact that we are in partnership, not just on a future solution for Australia's submarine capability, but what we are already doing on the Type-26 frigate, tells you all you need to know."