As widely expected, the UK defence minster, Liam Fox, has announced that RAF Leuchars is to close, despite a campaign by all political parties in Scotland for it to remain open.
With the earlier closure of Kinloss, this leaves Lossiemouth as the only RAF base in Scotland. In all half of the service’s personnel north of the Border have been cut.
As with RAF Kinloss, Leuchars is to become an army barracks. But, despite the increase in army numbers, Scotland continues to have a lower proportion of defence personnel than the rest of the UK.
The cuts were not restricted to the air force, with 45 Commando to move from RM Condor at Arbroath to England within six years.
Edinburgh’s Dreghorn, Redford and Craigiehall barracks are to close, with a new base being built at Kirknewton.
Announcing the cuts, Dr Fox said: "This government inherited both a national economic disaster that represented a strategic threat, and a defence programme undermined by a £38bn black hole.
"This failure to set out a coherent long-term strategy for defence and to effectively match commitments to resources is one of Labour's worst legacies."
He outlined plans to invest heavily in reserve forces over the next ten years to cover reductions in the number of regular army personnel, with territorials making up 30% of a 120,000-strong force by 2020.
The SNP's defence spokesman, Angus Robertson MP, said: “The UK Government had the opportunity to reverse more than a decade of decline in Scotland’s military footprint but has instead confirmed further massive and disproportionate cuts to the RAF and Royal Marines as well as the closure of military facilities.
“However the MoD try and dress this up, RAF personnel numbers are being cut by more than fifty per cent and the Royal Marines cut almost entirely in Scotland.
The SNP MSP for North East Fife, Rod Campbell, said: “This is a dark day for Fife as the UK Government presides over the end of the RAF’s 100 year presence at Leuchars. Coming just days after the UK government said that it would shut Fife Ness coastguard station, my constituency is paying a high price for the policies of the Liberal-Tory coalition.”
Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Conservative leader, said: “We wish the circumstances had been different, that there had been no £38bn black hole inherited from the last government and such a review had not been necessary.”
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