Top officials at RAF Leuchars have made a “compelling case” for retention of the base during high-level talks with Scottish Secretary Michael Moore.
During a visit to the base on Monday, Mr Moore was briefed by key members of staff, including Air Commodore Harry Atkinson.
The MP, who was flanked by North East Fife MP Menzies Campbell and MSP Iain Smith, then met campaigners, including chairwoman of Leuchars community council Carroll Finnie.
Ms Finnie made an impassioned plea to the senior minister, saying closure of the air base would be “devastating.”
Mr Moore described the visits as “extremely useful” and insisted the “right decision” would be taken.
Although he could offer no guarantees to campaigners, he said the Ministry of Defence hoped to come to a decision “as soon as possible.”
With cuts ahead, Mr Moore is keen to learn more about facilities on offer both at RAF Leuchars and RAF Lossiemouth.’Extremely useful'”Coming to Leuchars was important for me as I want to make sure I can put Scotland’s case forward,” he said.
“It was an extremely useful visit.
“The Ministry of Defence is working very hard on this and I want to make sure all the appropriate material is available. We hope to make an announcement as soon as we can.”
Mr Moore said he understood all the uncertainty was taking its toll on the community.
“I appreciate that the uncertainty does not help,” he added.
“However, we want to make the right decisions.”‘Constructive meetings’Mr Moore said that conclusions would be drawn purely based on the strength of the defence case.
“I am firmly convinced that the strategic case for the retention of RAF Leuchars is overwhelming,” North East Fife MP Sir Menzies told The Courier.
“We have had two extremely constructive meetings today (with local campaigners and RAF officials).
“Meeting with representatives of the local community allowed the Secretary of State to hear a first hand account of the possible consequences were Leuchars to close.
“He heard about the impact on schools, on communities and on the local economy.”
Meanwhile, Ms Finnie last night said Mr Moore had “listened carefully” to the concerns of residents.
After showing the Scottish Secretary a petition containing over 1000 signatures, she said, “I think the meeting went really well.
“We have not had any definitive answers but Mr Moore did say that Leuchars has huge strategic importance.
“We felt the meeting was quite positive and our concerns were certainly listened to it has really given us a boost.”