Defence Fears

Euro-MP Paul Nuttall

Fears about the UK’s future defence capability have been voiced by UKIP on the day more than 4,000 armed services personnel were learning of their redundancies.

“Some services should be sacrosanct and ring fenced from austerity cuts – and our defence comes into that category,” said local MEP Paul Nuttall, the party’s Deputy Leader.

“Defence minister Andrew Robathan must be called upon to justify his contention that the MoD would ‘retain the capabilities that our armed forces require in order to meet the challenges of the future’,”.

“How will our armed forces be able to meet future, and obviously uncertain, demands? These waves of redundancies are having a terrible effect on service morale and these brave, selfless men and women are being made to feel worthless.”

Almost 3,000 Army personnel as well as 900 members of the RAF and up to 300 from the Royal Navy were today being told they are surplus to requirement in the latest tranche of cuts.

‘We need to put an immediate halt to these cuts which are putting our country in an increasingly weak position. These moves are all to do with money without due thought of the human and military impact,” added Mr Nuttall.