A fresh row erupted over Scottish independence yesterday as defence chiefs announced plans for a further 1,505 military job losses.
The SNP claimed the armed forces had now been “cut into the bone”, but Defence Secretary Philip Hammond attacked the Nationalists’ own plans as being from “cloud cuckoo land”.
The redundancies will include 1,425 Army posts, 70 RAF medical and dental officers and 10 from the Royal Navy.
They could affect personnel at Fort George near Inverness, and the Kinloss barracks and RAF Lossiemouth in Moray.
It is the fourth and final round of job cuts as part of a re-structuring programme which will see the regular Army reduced from 102,000 to 82,000 by 2020.
Mr Hammond defended the move as he announced the cuts in Westminster yesterday, saying they would mark a “turning point” for the forces after a period of upheaval in which thousands of jobs have gone.
Angus Robertson, Moray MP and SNP defence spokesman, asked Mr Hammond: “Will the secretary of state confirm that personnel numbers are at a record low in Scotland, at around 11,000?
“That is significantly lower than the level of 15,000 planned by the Scottish Government for after independence.”
Mr Hammond responded: “The Scottish Government’s so-called plans for the future Scottish defence force exist in cloud cuckoo land.”
Speaking afterwards, Mr Robertson said: “Philip Hammond’s latest assault on defence is expected but still shocking. The Tory coalition claim the 1,500 redundancies announced today are the final round in their savage cuts – but they have now cut into the bone.”