Does the SNP oppose UK government reductions to Scotland’s defence footprint – including the closure of Fort George?

The UK government’s most recent wave of defence cuts will see the closure of a number of historic defence sites in Scotland, including Glencorse Barracks, Penicuik; Redford Barracks, Edinburgh, and Fort George near Inverness.

Scottish Ministers, SNP MPs and local communities have clearly set out our opposition to these cuts and it is deeply disappointing that Scotland’s views have not been taken on board.

The latest cuts amount to a nearly 20 per cent reduction in Scotland’s defence footprint, and come on top of years of cutbacks by successive UK governments.

The Ministry of Defence’s own jobs figures show that between 2010 and 2014, under the previous Tory-led Coalition, defence personnel in Scotland were cut by 3,300 – that’s an 18.7 per cent reduction.

And, if we go back further to 2000, 10,170 jobs have been cut in Scotland, with an overall reduction of 41 per cent – compared to 28 per cent across the UK.