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Demand for clarity over Scottish army jobs

The SNP are demanding answers on army cuts.
The SNP are demanding answers on army cuts.

The SNP has called for clarity on Scottish job losses as the MoD confirmed nearly 4,500 army personnel had been made redundant.

The third and biggest round of job cuts since the 2010 defence review, they form part of the Government’s long-term plan to reduce the number of regular soldiers from 102,000 to 82,000.

As those hit by the cuts were being told their fate by their commanding officers, it was still unclear how many serving Scottish soldiers were being axed.

An MoD spokeswoman said there were currently no figures available how the changes were affecting individual regiments in any area.

But it appears most units in Scotland were losing some personnel unless they are currently serving, preparing for or recovering from operations such as Afghanistan.

This would seem then to cover the Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland who returned from Afghanistan earlier this year and Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, who are currently serving there. It is not known how the cuts will impact on The Black Watch.

The MoD, saying the move was necessary to help balance the books but insisting operational capability would not be affected, stressed it had moved to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies, adding 84% of those losing their jobs had applied for redundancy.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has confirmed there will be no further reductions in manpower in the next round of spending cuts.

However, the SNP claimed service personnel cuts had been disproportionate in Scotland over recent years.

SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson said: “It is time for the Ministry of Defence to come clean and confirm how many servicemen and women based in Scotland are being made redundant and how many are remaining in post.”

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said the redundancy notices issued represented not just broken promises but a failing strategy to reform the army.

Chief of the General Staff General Sir Peter Wall said: “This redundancy scheme is a difficult but essential step towards our 2020 structure.

“We owe our sincere gratitude to those leaving the army for their service over such a demanding period of operations. We will support them and their families as best we can on their path to civilian life.”