Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

RAF Leuchars rumour quashed as business leaders warn of closure’s ‘heavy price’

Post Thumbnail

Chambers of Commerce throughout Scotland have joined forces to warn the UK Government any closure of RAF Leuchars would be “a cut too far.”

They insist Scotland’s economy would pay a “heavy price” were either the Fife base or RAF Lossiemouth in Moray to close during swingeing defence cuts.

The hard-hitting message came after fresh suggestions that Leuchars will be axed were dismissed by Ministry of Defence officials.

Reports had suggested the future of the Fife base was sealed during top-level ministerial discussions on Tuesday.

However, a source close to the UK Government that night told The Courier rumours of imminent closure were “spurious” and “unreliable.”

The Ministry of Defence claimed analysis is “ongoing” and said the meeting between ministers and defence chiefs was “routine.”

A decision on which base faces closure RAF Leuchars, Lossiemouth and Marham in Norfolk are all contenders is expected to be announced in summer.Business caseWith the closure of RAF Kinloss already confirmed, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce have warned of a “devastating impact” should either of the remaining Scottish bases be deemed surplus to requirements.

Chief executive Liz Cameron said, “Before the publication of the Strategic Defence and Security Review last October, Scottish Chambers of Commerce called upon the secretary of state for defence to have due regard to the economic impact of defence cuts on the Scottish economy.

“While we welcome the continuation of the contracts for the construction of the two new aircraft carriers, we still have serious concerns about the impact that the closure of two Scottish RAF airbases could have on our national and regional economies.

“The closure of RAF Kinloss will be a hard enough blow on the economy of Moray, but the continuing threat to RAF Lossiemouth, also in Moray, and RAF Leuchars in Fife is a cut too far for Scotland.”

The chambers call on the government to “realise the results of its decisions” on Scotland.

“We are in serious danger of suffering disproportionately as a result of the reduction in defence spending,” Ms Cameron warned.

“It is time the government realised that the results of its decisions could have far reaching implications for our economy’s capacity to compete more generally.

“Business understands the need for government to reduce overall levels of public spending in order to tackle the deficit, but cuts must be seen to be applied equitably across the UK.

“The threat that Scotland could lose two of its three RAF airbases is disproportionate and unfair.”Rumours criticisedNorth East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell criticised speculation that the decision to close Leuchars had already been taken.

“The debate about RAF Leuchars has been characterised too often by speculation which has subsequently proved to be totally without foundation,” he said.

“I have spoken to ministers in the relevant departments. I have been assured that no announcement is imminent and that, when it is made, the decision will be by ministers alone and not officials in the Ministry of Defence or senior military commanders.

“Rumours of this kind will not deflect in any way the continuing campaign for the retention of RAF Leuchars.”

A source close to the UK Government called the latest rumours “mischief-making”.

“The basing review is a complex piece of work and absolutely no decision has been made yet,” he told The Courier.

“However, it is clear that the case for Leuchars is being made to government very effectively.

“Each time one of these reports comes out it is almost instantly found to be spurious…you really have to start wondering about the reliability of these ‘sources’ that are quoted.”

The Ministry of Defence also denied that any conclusions had been made.

“There is no decision yet on the future of the RAF bases in Scotland,” he said.

“Ministers and chiefs met today for a regular meeting on defence transformation. Decisions on basing will be announced as soon as possible but it is important to make sure that any decisions made are the right ones for the armed forces, rather than rush through the process.”