A powerful group of MPs has claimed that cuts which are costing hundreds of military jobs in Moray could leave the country dangerously exposed in a future crisis.
The UK Government was under fire last night for shrinking the armed forces in a way that has not been “fully thought through” and may have jeopardised security.
The warning – which follows a 28% drop in personnel at Moray’s bases in the last three years – is contained in a new report by Westminster’s defence select committee.
It prompted Labour to call on the Government to halt its redundancy programme, claiming there was now a shortfall of almost 8,000 in overall armed forces personnel numbers.
SNP Moray MP Angus Robertson branded the strategy a “growing shambles” last night.
Ministry of Defence (MoD) savings have dealt a major economic blow to the region in recent years.
The number of staff at Kinloss has been cut by about half since 2010, from 1,276 to under 650, following its switch from an RAF to Army facility, and three subsequent redundancy rounds.
Despite being saved from closure in 2011, RAF Lossiemouth’s staff has also been cut from about 1,988 to 1,690 during the period, including at least 90 redundancies. The Fort George barracks near Inverness, home of the Black Watch battalion, has lost at least 40 personnel so far.
Across the UK, the coalition’s plan has been to slash the size of the regular Army from 102,000 troops to 82,000 while the number of part-time reservists was proposed to rise to 30,000 by 2018.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond defended the new Army 2020 plan, saying the changes would help deliver “a flexible and agile force with first-class kit and worldwide reach”.
In today’s report the defence committee claims the strategy has been driven by the MoD’s need to fit a “financial envelope” rather than any proper assessment of potential threats.
The MPs also urged military chiefs to draw up contingency plans for a rapid recruitment programme in case there was a need for more troops to deal with a future emergency.
Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary Vernon Coaker said official figures showed a shortfall of almost 8,000 in overall armed forces numbers.
An MoD source dismissed Labour’s claim of an 8,000 shortfall, saying the figures reflected an “inevitable lag” between personnel leaving and the required forces numbers being reduced as the services move to their “future force” 2020 levels.”
Mr Hammond said: “Britain will remain one of very few countries which can deploy a brigade-size expeditionary force on an enduring operation or a division-size force on a short-term operation. The report fails to recognise the resources required to meet the security challenges of the future, such as cyber, which means shifting the balance of our investment.
“It is not possible to maintain traditional regular forces at historic levels while also investing in countering the threats of tomorrow.”
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