With a decision on the future of RAF Leuchars a maximum of three weeks away, the case to retain the Fife base will today be taken to the UK parliament.
The Courier can reveal that campaigners will spell out “compelling” reasons to keep the airfield during a meeting with Scottish secretary Michael Moore.
Leuchars is under threat as the Ministry of Defence aims to make swingeing cuts to its defence budget. RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and Marham in Norfolk are also in the firing line.
Fraser Phillips, chairman of the Residents Action Force Leuchars, will lead today’s talks with Mr Moore.
An announcement on which base faces closure has been promised by July 19 at the latest. However, with the weight of the Scottish Government behind him, Mr Phillips clearly believes it is still not too late to make a potentially crucial intervention.
“It is vital that we continue to drive home the message to the UK Government that closure of either Leuchars or Lossiemouth is totally unacceptable,” he said.
“We wholly agree with the Scottish Government that these cuts would be totally disproportionate and unfair. Scotland does not deserve to lose such huge military numbers.”
Mr Phillips said the rationale behind the case for retention of Leuchars is unequivocal on both defence and community grounds.
He will remind Mr Moore that millions of pounds have been invested in the base in recent years.’Most appropriate’ base”From a Leuchars task force standpoint, we want to reinforce the compelling case for RAF Leuchars as it is the most appropriate location to defend the northern UK,” Mr Phillips continued.
“This was confirmed when the decision was taken to place the Typhoons in Leuchars five years ago.”
Meanwhile, Mr Phillips said the local community would “not allow” closure.
“Our communities depend on the base, and it supports around 2000 direct and indirect jobs,” he pointed out. “If Leuchars was to close, we would lose £60 million to the Fife economy.
“We cannot allow this to happen. Leuchars has already faced the loss of a major manufacturer and employer, Curtis Fine Papers, along with a local construction firm, Torith,” Mr Phillips continued.
“Closure of the air base would be a devastating blow to Leuchars.”
The latest stage in the fight to save the base comes just 10 days after The Courier published a map detailing the proximity of the airfield to some of the nation’s most sensitive potential terrorism targets.
Al Qaida has recently pledged revenge attacks on the US and UK in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden by US special forces in Pakistan.
With that chilling threat in mind, North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell is keen to highlight the “crucial” role played by RAF Leuchars.
“The national security strategy clearly states that the threat of an international terrorist attack on the UK is at the top of the identified risks,” he said. “The Home Office has concluded that an attack is ‘highly likely.’
“The role of RAF Leuchars has, therefore, never been so important.”