NATO and maritime headquarters at RAF Pitreavie is to be the latest
casualty of the Government's defence cuts according to Rachel Squire,
Labour MP for Dunfermline West.
Today she is publishing an early day motion to ask for a full debate
in the House of Commons.
Ms Squire said: ''I have been given new information from M o D
employees that RAF Pitreavie, RAF Turnhouse, along with the Rosyth Naval
Base, all face closure.
''At RAF Pitreavie Castle, the only underground reinforced concrete
bunker in Scotland which controls all Navy and RAF movements in the
North Atlantic and North Sea, study groups are being set up to ensure a
speedy move of its functions to Faslane.
''Building is apparently already going on at Faslane to accommodate
the RAF. This makes a mockery of Ministers' statements that no decisions
have yet been taken on the Defence Costs Study. It also makes a mockery
of the Government's claim about saving money.''
She continued: ''I understand that the expenditure at Faslane will far
outweigh any savings from Pitreavie's closure.
''Only last year the Defence Secretary announced that Pitreavie Castle
would become the UK Rescue Co-ordination Centre and that it would be
operational by the end of this year.
''I am told the work in setting it up hasn't been started.''
RAF sources admitted that work on the rescue centre had not yet
started.
An RAF spokesman at Pitreavie said: ''RAF Pitreavie Castle and
Turnhouse are being looked at by the Defence Costs Study, as are all
defence bases, so it would be wrong to speculate on how long their
lifespans will be.
''As far as the rescue co-ordination Centre is concerned, Ministers
only two months ago said it would be up and running by the end of
1994.''
Pitreavie Castle is mostly staffed by RAF and Navy personnel and
employs only a small number of civilians.
The Shadow Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, is co-ordinating the present
battle to save Rosyth naval base whose future is expected to be
announced by the Defence Secretary, Mr Malcolm Rifkind, at the end of
July.
' I have been given new information from M o D employees that RAF
Pitreavie, RAF Turnhouse, along with the Rosyth Naval Base, all face
closure. '
Rachel Squire
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