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July 5, 2004, Scotsman ARMY CHIEFS FEAR ALL SCOTS REGIMENTS MAY VANISH Gethin Chamberlain Defence Correspondent MAJOR cuts in defence spending demanded by the Treasury have forced army commanders to consider for the first time the possibility that all of Scotland's regiments may have to be replaced by one "super-regiment". They have been told that the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, will not back down on demands for spending cuts of up to GBP 2 billion across the armed forces. That has prompted a complete rethink on the structure of the army, and senior officers now believe taht the inevitable result will be that all the historic regiments - including such world-famous names as the Black Watch - will ultimately disappear. The slash-and-burn policy is not restricted to Scotland. Apart from the immediate loss of at least one - and possibly two - Scottish regiments, some of the most famous English regiments also face disbandment. The Scotsman has learned that there have been discussions within the Ministry of Defence at Army Board level about the possibility of scrapping one battalion of the Parachute Regiment. One former senior officer yesterday described the proposals as "catastrophic". Sir Clive Fairweather, a former deputy commander of the SAS, said he was convinced that the regimental system was a "war-winning factor", without which Britain's armed forces would be weaker and less effective. The Treasury appears to have won its battle with the Ministry of Defence over demands for up to GBP 2 billion in cuts to Britain's armed forces. In an attempt to minimise the political fallout, the announcement about where the axe will fall will take place next week, just before Parliament rises for the summer recess. At a meeting in Whitehall on Friday, Scotland's senior officers were told that the Treasury demands for spending cuts meant that there was no option but to scrap at least one regiment, with the Royal Scots almost certain to be the first to go. The Highlanders have also been told that their future is on the line. A source within the MoD said of the meeting: "There was a robust effort from the army to suggest that there should be no reduction in regiments. But I'm afraid to say the response was that to meet the Treasury's demands for cuts of GBP 2 billion each of the services would have to suffer some pain." Nicholas Soames, the shadow Secretary of State for Defence, said he was "very anxious" at any proposed cuts within the infantry. "This has come at a particularly bad time, as the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders are returning from Iraq and the Black Watch are going out again," he said. The threatened regiments appear to have accepted their fate but have placed their hopes on the single "super regiment" proposal, under which individual regimental cap badges could possibly be initially retained. Others, however, are determined to fight on, favouring a campaign to drum up public support for a last minute change of heart. Another option under serious consideration is for Scotland to move to a two -regiment system of one Highland Regiment and one Lowland Regiment, although this appears to have less support than a single regimental structure. Serving officers, unable to speak out publicly, are privately aghast at the prospect of losing more manpower at a time when they are already stretched to breaking point, describing it as short term-ism. "You can't just pick people off the streets and send them off to war when you need them," one said. "Politicians expect the men to go once they have made a decision, but now perhaps we won't have the men to deal with some of the scenarios they will want us to deal with."
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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