New figures have revealed that a closure-threatened Moray emergency centre has led more than 7,300 rescues in the last three years.
UK ministers confirmed the full scale of operations at the Aeronautical Rescue and Co-ordination Centre (ARCC) at Kinloss yesterday.
Staff at the life-saving facility oversaw 2,488 rescues in 2011, 2,389 in 2012 and 2,482 in 2013.
Local MP Angus Robertson, who obtained the statistics by tabling questions at Westminster, said last night that they proved the centre was “busy and effective” and the UK Government’s closure plans were “simply wrong”.
Moray Council leader Stewart Cree said the figures confirmed that the decision to shut the facility must have been taken for financial reasons and not operational ones.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) provoked fury last month when it announced that the UK’s only ARCC would be transferred from Kinloss to Fareham, in Hampshire.
The controversial move has cast doubt over the future of 27 RAF and 10 civilian jobs.
It represents a fresh blow to Kinloss and Moray, with the number of military personnel at the base having already been halved since the Army took over from the RAF at the site in 2011.
Based at Kinloss since a merger of two ARCCs in 1997, the centre assists the emergency services by co-ordinating RAF, Royal Navy and coastguard search and rescue helicopters, as well as mountain rescue personnel.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has written to Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to abandon the relocation plan.
After receiving the rescue statistics, Mr Robertson, who is SNP defence spokesman, said: “These figures confirm just how wrong it is to close such a busy and effective centre – it is a devastating decision and simply the wrong thing to do – but it is the latest in a series of disproportionate MoD cuts to defence bases, capabilities and personnel in Scotland.
“Two out of three Scottish airbases have been cut, the entire maritime patrol fleet has been scrapped and we have the lowest military personnel numbers in Scotland in living memory.”
Councillor Cree, the local authority’s newly-appointed leader, said: “There’s a long, proud history of that centre in Moray.
“These decisions are taken generally for financial reasons, and don’t take into account much of the practicalities of the situation.
“It’s a great shame that it is happening and to the best of my knowledge the council was not consulted. I’m not happy about it.”
The UK Government has said that the move to the National Maritime Operations Centre at Fareham would combine the aeronautical and maritime rescue co-ordination services, resulting in a better service for those in distress.
It added that work was ongoing to clarify whether the civilian jobs could be transferred to Fareham, and that officials would consult trade unions and support staff through the process.
Former RAF Kinloss station commander Group Captain JJ Johnson said it was unlikely that any of the ARCC personnel employed at the base would move to Fareham.
David Whalley was a member of the RAF Mountain Rescue Team for 36 years and has expressed concerns about the loss of local knowledge in northern Scotland after the transfer.
The UK had two ARCCs from 1941 until the end of 1997, based at Plymouth and Edinburgh.
They combined in 1997 at RAF Kinloss.