Army numbers to be cut back to smallest size since Boer War

CATTERICK will remain one of the country’s biggest military bases after a radical reorganisation announced by Defence Secretary Liam Fox last night.

The reform will see a much smaller Army split into five Multi-Role Brigades and Catterick and Salisbury will be home to two of those.

The others will be in the south west of England, in Rutland and in Scotland

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Dr Fox confirmed in the House of Commons that the regular Army would be reduced to its smallest size since the Boer War – down from more than 100,000 to around 84,000 by 2015, by which time British troops should be out of Afghanistan.

He said he would be investing £1.5bn to build up reserve forces in compensation. The Territorial Army would go up from 14,000 to 36,000.

Dr Fox said the changing balance would bring the UK more into line with comparable countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia.

The Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton, who led a review of the reserves, said the changes would mean the armed forces would be better configured to meet the challenges of the future.

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But Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, Jim Murphy, accused Dr Fox of going back on promises of “thousands of extra troops” made by the Tories when they were in opposition.

He said: “Today’s cut in the Army is bigger than the entire current deployment of all UK forces in Afghanistan.”

Dr Fox also confirmed a real terms increase of one percent a year in the equipment budget from 2015-16 to 2020-21, enabling the Ministry of Defence to acquire 14 additional Chinook helicopters, upgrade the Warrior armoured vehicle and develop the Royal Navy’s planned new global combat ship.

It will also cover the cost of converting the new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier to take the carrier version of the joint strike fighter, as well as the initial spending on the aircraft itself.

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In his review of military bases, Dr Fox said RAF Leuchars in Fife would cease to be an air base but would be used instead to house soldiers coming back from Germany.

Lossiemouth. the other main Scottish RAF base, will be built up as a base for the new Typhoons. The 19 Light Brigade, currently based in Northern Ireland, will be disbanded by 2013. Civilian workforces at RAF Kinloss, Cottesmore and Lyneham, will be reduced – around 545 posts in total.

It is proposed that the Army’s four regional divisional headquarters will be replaced by a single UK support command, based in Aldershot. Its creation will lead to the disbandment of Headquarters 2nd Division in Edinburgh, Headquarters 4th Division at Aldershot and Headquarters 5th Division at Shrewsbury in 2012.

RAF Lyneham is the preferred location for future Defence Technical Training. This confirms that the MoD will withdraw from Arborfield, in Berkshire and Bordon, in Hampshire, releasing the sites for sale by 2014-15.

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Mr Fox told the Commons: “This has been a complex piece of work.

“It addressed the decision to accelerate the return of the 20,000 personnel still in Germany and the planned changes to the RAF force structure.

“It has also taken account of the need to address the black hole in the defence budget left by the previous Government.

“Much detailed planning remains to be done. But our strategic objective and the key building blocks of our plan are clear.”

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Hugh Bayley, Labour MP for York Central, said he had been assured Imphal barracks would remain the headquarters of the Yorkshire Regiment and RAF Linton on Ouse would still be a training centre of fast jets.

Barnsley Central Labour MP Dan Jarvis, a former Army major, said: “Today’s announcement is a cynical plan to use the phone hacking scandal to bury an extremely bad news story for the Prime Minster and Defence Secretary.

“Let us be under no illusion, today’s announcement represents a significant reduction in our capability. It undermines our ability to protect our country and uphold our place in the world.

“In this fast-changing and uncertain world, it is irresponsible for the Government to dramatically reduce our defence and security capability at this moment. The announcement of additional resource to support the reserve forces is, frankly, defence on the cheap and compromises our ability to be a force for good in the world.

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“How can the Defence Secretary be sure that Britain will not need to deploy ground troops in a country again within the next four years?

“In October, the Government declared that they couldn’t foresee a combat operation in the short term that would need an aircraft carrier. Less than six months after the Strategic Defence and Security Review was completed, we were over the skies of Libya and are still there.”

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