Military numbers in Scotland at lowest for 15 years, reveals MoD

THE level of military personnel based in Scotland is at its lowest for 15 years, official government figures have revealed.

The latest Ministry of Defence statistics were published as retired senior officers warned a row over regimental names in Scotland has been “a smoke screen” for dangerous cuts to army numbers.

As revealed in The Scotsman, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, a battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, is to be axed with its name likely to be merged with the Black Watch to keep its history alive.

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The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards tank regiment is also set to go and 40 Regiment the Lowland Gunners has already been disbanded. Meanwhile, the Scots Guards are also under threat.

Opposition politicians from across the political spectrum this week launched a campaign to keep the regimental names alive.

But figures published yesterday showed that before these cuts even take place 660 MoD jobs were lost in Scotland last year, bringing the total down to 15,880.

Of these job losses 410 were military, many believed to be RAF staff from Kinloss and Leuchars, bringing the total number of military personnel in Scotland down to 11,190 – the lowest since 1997 and second lowest since 1976, the first year that official MoD records are available.

The changes also suggest that Scotland has been hit disproportionately with four per cent fewer jobs compared to a decrease of 1.8 per cent in England.

SNP Westminster leader and defence spokesman Angus Robertson said: “These are explosive figures for the Ministry of Defence, and confirm the continued and disproportionate decline in Scotland’s defence footprint at a time when we were promised an increased conventional presence.”

However, the MoD has said that plans to double the size of the army in Scotland to 6,500 and have an overall rise in military personnel from the time of the 2010 strategic defence and security review (SDSR) with the Astute class submarines also coming to Faslane are still on track.

Retired senior officers yesterday said that the recent row over “cap badges” had been a distraction from a much greater problem of plans to reduce the British Army by 20,000.

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Stuart Crawford, former army officer and formerly of the Keep Our Scottish Battalions campaign of 2004, said: “I think to a certain extent, the important point has been masked by the populist reaction to the threat to the traditional regimental names. The truth of the matter is that the deed was done in 2005. The traditional historical regiments were disbanded and reformed into the Royal Regiment of Scotland.The threat to the actual physical existence of Scottish recruited military units remains.”

Former SAS colonel Clive Fairweather added: “The regiments went some time ago. What we have got to be worried about is a reduction in the UK’s capability to react to world events. The cuts to the Scottish part of the army is just part of a bigger picture.”