Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has been accused of ”using the Official Secrets Act as a shield” as two Fife MPs heaped further pressure on the Ministry of Defence to confirm that it will fulfil its pledge to retain Leuchars as a military base.
He said: ”Fifers are right to be disgusted by the abandonment of Leuchars by the SNP. Fife has a proud military tradition, and this tradition is being betrayed by the SNP’s nonsensical policies on defence.”
Community council vice-chairman Mark Sharp said he felt that Mr Hammond was “using the Official Secrets Act as a shield” to “dodge” the question of the operational and value for money aspects of relocating the Typhoon force from Leuchars to Lossiemouth
But Mr Grant said the task force group held a ”very constructive meeting” on March 2.
He said in a statement: ”Senior representatives of the RAF, army and defence infrastructure organisation attended and gave very full and open responses to a number of queries and concerns raised by councillors and other community representatives.
“Sir Menzies Campbell was invited to the task force meeting but did not attend. His comments in Monday’s Courier appear to be based on nothing more than hearsay and speculation.
“The scenario he describes is, in my view, incompatible with the answers the task force received and which he would have received if he had attended the task force meeting barely one week ago.
“While all the community representatives on the task force would support a call for more proactive openness from the MoD, it strikes me as ironic that in this case the demand for openness was based on a statement from someone who chose to remain anonymous.
“The task force gives us the chance to raise any concerns our communities may have, and to have these answered face-to-face by some of the most senior MoD and military personnel in Scotland.”
The Courier has made repeated contact with the Ministry of Defence for an update on the army’s proposed move to Leuchars, but a spokesman would not be drawn on the outcome of its ongoing review.
The accusation was made by the vice-chairman of Leuchars Community Council, Mark Sharp, who accused Mr Hammond of ”dodging the question” on whether relocating Typhoon aircraft from RAF Leuchars to Lossiemouth made strategic sense or offered value for money.
The comment came as Fife Defence Transition Task Force member Lindsay Roy and fellow Fife Labour MP Thomas Docherty added their voices to growing concern on the future of the Leuchars base amid fresh doubts as to whether the army will ever move there.
However, the chairman of the Fife Defence Transition Task Force, Fife councillor Peter Grant, described the latest claims about the future of Leuchars as ”heresay and speculation”.
It is eight months since the then Defence Secretary Liam Fox told the Commons he had decided to close Leuchars in its present form, and that it would be used to house thousands of troops returning to the UK from deployment in Germany instead.
A recently retired senior RAF source has told The Courier he fears there is a ”real possibility” that Leuchars could be left as an empty military base with a rusting chain on the gate, while a senior army source has said: ”No one seems to have a clue what’s going on.”
In response, Glenrothes and Central Fife MP Lindsay Roy echoed North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell’s view that if the relocation of the Leuchars Typhoon squadrons to Lossiemouth proceeds as announced last summer, then the MoD should commit to the undertaking that there will be a ”substantial army presence” on the Fife base.
Mr Roy told The Courier: ”It is becoming increasingly clear that a further review is taking place behind closed doors and this inevitably breeds rumour and speculation. But whatever the outcome the MoD must honour its pledge to retain Leuchars as an armed forces base and if the RAF does move to Lossiemouth, then the commitment for a substantial army presence to be established must be fulfilled.”
Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty took a political swipe, directing his criticism at the Scottish Government for failing to tell Leuchars Community Council whether the Leuchars decision would be reversed in an independent Scotland.
Continued…