A Scottish Conservative MP accused her SNP rivals of scaremongering over the future of Scotland’s Royal Marine base.
Kirstene Hair, who represents Angus, called on a UK minister to snuff out alarmist rhetoric from the Nationalists on RM Condor, the Arbroath home of the 45 Commandos.
Tobias Ellwood, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for defence, said there are only plans to close the airfield, but did not explicitly guarantee the long-term future of the base.
Speaking in the Commons, Ms Hair said: “Will the minister confirm there are no plans to close RM Condor and that 45 Commandos’ place in Angus is secure?
“And does he agree with me that the extremely reckless behaviour of Nationalist politicians to scaremonger on this serious matter?”
Mr Ellwood replied: “There is a large area of Britain that is owned by the MoD. It is important that we rationalise this real estate.
“It does mean looking at a number of locations, 91 of them across the country have already been earmarked.
“I will sit down with the honourable lady. I think it’s just the airfield, if memory serves, that needs to be looked at. The remainder does remain in place.”
Fears have been raised that the Royal Marines could lose 1,000 of their elite soldiers across the UK, as well as two landing ships HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion as part of wider defence cuts.
The RM Condor base, which Ms Hair described as a “lynch pin” of the community, has had the threat of closure hanging over it since 2004.
Last week, Ms Hair was criticised for missing a debate, which focused on widespread concerns about the future of the Royal Marines in the UK.
Stewart McDonald, the SNP’s defence spokesman in Westminster, said it is “staggering” to be accused of scaremongering from an MP who did not turn up to a debate covering the base’s future.
