A crowd of 11,000 cheering people yesterday watched the launch of the most powerful destroyer ever built in the UK.

HMS Daring was sent hurtling down the slipway into the River Clyde in Glasgow by the Countess of Wessex.

The ceremony at the BAE Systems shipyard in Scotstoun was also attended by Defence Secretary John Reid.

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham also attended the launch of the warship, which is to be affiliated to the city.

Coun John Hood presented the crew with a civic plate, which once belonged to HMS Birmingham, for luck.

He said: "Birmingham is very proud of its association with the Royal Navy.

"It was a great loss to the city when HMS Birmingham was decommissioned in 1999 so it is wonderful that we're now going to have HMS Daring associated with the city."

The Type 45 destroyer is the first of six to be built at Scotstoun and its sister yard Govan. With a price tag of £605 million, the 150-metre long vessel weighs in at 7,350 tons and is said by defence chiefs to be the most advanced warship in the world.

The multi-purpose destroyer, which will come into service in 2009, is fitted with the Principal Anti-Air Missile System, which is designed to provide airspace cover for hundreds of miles around.

Five other Type 45s - HMS Dauntless, Diamond, Defender, Dragon and Duncan - are all due to be launched on the Clyde as part of the scheme which has safeguarded 2,500 shipbuilding jobs.

The Defence Secretary said it was a proud day for the Royal Navy.

"It's a huge boost for the Royal Navy because this is the most capable, most powerful destroyer ever built in the UK," said Mr Reid.

"Part of the deal is that in reducing the number of warships, that we make them more capable than ever before and this is an example, it's part of the biggest building programme we've had for decades."