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Army bases: Fewer than expected troops to return to Scotland | Army bases: Fewer than expected troops to return to Scotland |
(35 minutes later) | |
The number of Army personnel based in Scotland is to increase by more than 600, the defence secretary has said. | The number of Army personnel based in Scotland is to increase by more than 600, the defence secretary has said. |
Philip Hammond told MPs that the Craigiehall Camp near Edinburgh would close and Kirknewton would not now be developed as an Army barracks, but Dreghorn Barracks would remain. | |
Mr Hammond has been outlining where troops withdrawing from Germany will be re-housed in the UK. | Mr Hammond has been outlining where troops withdrawing from Germany will be re-housed in the UK. |
Opposition parties said the minister had failed on his troop numbers pledge. | |
The coalition government had said in 2011 that up to 7,000 personnel would return to Scotland. | |
Some 16,000 troops and their families will be moved back to the UK over the next five years. | Some 16,000 troops and their families will be moved back to the UK over the next five years. |
The reorganisation will cost about £2bn and it will see some UK bases expanded, while others will close. | The reorganisation will cost about £2bn and it will see some UK bases expanded, while others will close. |
Both Labour and the SNP attacked Mr Hammond's statement. | |
Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy said the decision to base fewer staff at Leuchars than had been previously been planned would have a political cost. | |
The SNP accused Mr Hammond of breaking promises over the number of Army personal to be based north of the border. | |
Its defence spokesman Angus Robertson said there would now be fewer troops in Scotland than under plans for independence. | |
Former Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ming Campbell, whose constituency includes the Leuchars base, accused the government of basing its decisions on political rather than security concerns. |