Letter: Defence delay

We all remember the furore caused when Labour published the last review. Fox's predecessor Geoff Hoon devastated serving and ex-soldiers by announcing the army would change; disbandments and amalgamations were the order of the day. The regimental system was ruined.

Fox was quick to jump on the bandwagon then by using the veterans as a tool to hit Labour by saying the cuts were too deep and the armed forces would not be able to carry out its role in future years. Now his attitude has changed for the worse and our armed forces will be decimated.

The armed forces, military bases and regiments need to be told now whether or not they have a future. The threat of redundancies does not bode well for the discipline, confidence and well-being of our forces

Members of our armed forces, especially those who are married, need to plan for their future, if they have one, and the defence minister's dithering is only making their next move difficult. It must also be upsetting for those who are presently on a war footing and must show on their performance on the battle field.

(Major) Bob Ritchie MBE

Bloom Court

Livingston

AM I alone in being puzzled by the SNP's Janus-like approach to the possible closure of RAF bases in Scotland? On the one hand, it cannot wait to get rid of all things and people who are British (putting to one side the fact that it is also British) and yet it wants the RAF to stay and the British military footprint in Scotland to be bigger than it is. Contrary is hardly the word. Then it complains that the local economies in Moray and/or Fife will be devastated by the loss of the same bases when the party has the power to inject British government cash, which it receives every year, into those same economies.

However, the SNP wants to buy our votes by handing out freebies to everyone, whether or not they want or need them, throughout Scotland. Free tolls on bridges; free education for Scottish students (but certainly not for other British students, thank you very much) and free prescriptions.

Surely there must be plenty of money swilling around in the SNP's coffers to help these areas of Scotland. Maybe the truth is that unless it thinks there is a vote in it, the SNP has no interest in anything concerning the prosperity of Scotland and certainly not in places where the voters (RAF families) are few in number and largely English anyway.

No votes there, you see. So, no money. That is the unpalatable truth about SNP priorities. Spending is not for the good of the country. It is for the good of the SNP.

Andrew HN Gray

Craiglea Drive

Edinburgh