Pressure grows in battle to save RAF Leuchars

UK Political Editor

Friday 17 June 2011

RAF Leuchars must be retained to prevent a 9/11-style terrorist attack on Scotland, Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, is warned today.

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MICHAEL SETTLE UK POLITICAL EDITOR

In a letter to the Secretary of State, which intensifies the battle over the Ministry of Defence’s review of military bases, Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader, spells out starkly the threat to Scotland and northern England as well as the necessity to retain the base, whose squadron of Eurofighter Typhoons could react in minutes to an emergency.

“The strategic defence case for RAF Leuchars is overwhelming,” says Sir Menzies. “Its proximity to more than four million people in Scotland and to highly sensitive installations such as Torness nuclear power station, Faslane nuclear submarine base and Grangemouth oil refinery is significant as it means fighter aircraft scrambled in the event of an emergency can be overhead and engaged with any target in a matter of a few minutes.”His remarks come as David Cameron on a visit to RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire yesterday insisted the UK Government would “never compromise on our nation’s security” and described the RAF as “completely and utterly essential”.Sir Menzies’s intervention also coincides with the Scottish Government’s submission to Dr Fox not to cut any more Scottish military facilities in the basing review. The defence review has already sounded the death knell for RAF Kinloss in Moray.Alex Salmond, the First Minister, insisted the economic and defence case for retaining Scotland’s military bases was “considerable, comprehensive and overwhelming”.Last night, the campaign to retain Leuchars, where more than 1600 military and civilian personnel work, received support from Air Marshal Sir Peter Bairsto, former deputy commander of RAF Strike Command. He said: “With regard to its past performance, RAF Leuchars has performed exceptionally well and, on that basis, there would be no reason to change its role.”In his letter, Sir Menzies points out that the UK Government’s National Security Strategy, published last October, places the threat of an international terrorist attack – including a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear one – at the top of identified risks and that the current threat level is severe, meaning an attack is “highly likely”. The area Leuchars covers includes several so-called “tier one” sites, not only Faslane, Torness and Grangemouth but also Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Newcastle city centres as well as Hartlepool nuclear power station and the petro-chemical plant at Redcar. “The role of RAF Leuchars has therefore never been so important,” says Sir Menzies, stressing that its unique location on Scotland’s east coast acts as a clear deterrent to terrorists and other threats.He points out that aircraft from RAF Leuchars have intercepted Russian warplanes probing UK air defences more than 50 times since 2005. He adds: “It is in the right place, at the right time, doing the right job. The reasons for providing air defence for the northern half of the United Kingdom are the same today as they were when it was first given this role. Closure would increase the risk to our citizens.”l The Ritz and Eton public school were among targets being considered by an al Qaeda leader killed in Somalia last week. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, who topped the FBI’s most wanted list for 13 years, was shot.Trevor Royle: Page 15

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Pressure grows in battle to save RAF Leuchars

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