Three Scottish barracks could shut sooner according to reports

Three Scottish barracks could shut as the Ministry of Defence seeks to cut costs.

The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 Scots) troops at Fort George, Inverness.

Up to 1,700 soldiers could be axed in Scotland as the MoD aims to instead focus on meeting the demands of the cyber era.

According to The Sunday Times, three of Scotland's seven garrisons now face closure in cuts to be announced by the end of the year.

Fort George near Inverness, home to the Black Watch, and the Glencorse and Redford barracks in Midlothian and Edinburgh were all scheduled to close by 2032 but now could be gone even sooner.

A regiment of Royal Engineers at Kinloss is also earmarked to close with units set to be moved to England.

It would see the number of regular soldiers in Scotland being cut from 3,700 to 2,000.

Military bosses are believed to be working on pans to disband units and close barracks, while the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has promised so soldiers would be made redundant.

A blueprint of the plans has reportedly been handed to Mr Wallace, but opposition from the "nations and regions" has delayed the publication.

A spokesman for the MoD, said: “The plans for structural reform [of the army] are not yet finalised so speculation at this stage is unhelpful and misleading.

"Detailed plans will be submitted to ministers later this autumn and decisions made public when finalised.”

Earlier this year the Westminster defence review committed to cutting the size of the army from 77,820 soldiers to 72,500.

The army is already 5,000 soldiers short, which means about 5,000 more soldiers will have to go.