WESTERN ISLES MP RAISES ISLES JOBS FEARS IN COMMONS.

WESTERN ISLES MP RAISES ISLES JOBS FEARS IN COMMONS.

Calls for an emergency House of Commons debate on the future of a missile testing range on South Uist were made by MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Angus MacNeil today (Wednesday). Mr MacNeil used a little known Standing Order (No.24) to raise concerns over confirmation that the missile test range on the Uists is to be run-down by the facility’s operator, QinetiQ. The closure of the base would mean the loss of one in six jobs on South Uist.

Mr MacNeil said:

“The run-down of this base would be a hammer blow to the islands, and the UK Government must reverse this decision.

“QinetiQ have made this decision without any proper consideration of the social and economic impact it will have on the community, and given the importance of this range to the strategic defence estate, UK Ministers must not hide from scrutiny in parliament.

“We are talking about one in six jobs being lost in an already fragile community, and the impact of that would be devastating. To put this in context, 120 jobs in the Western Isles is equivalent to several thousand jobs being lost in the central belt. In the teeth of recession, this announcement could not come at a worse moment.

“While the Scottish Government will provide support to the affected communities through the PACE team, QinetiQ is the privatised research arm of the Ministry of Defence, and so the buck stops with the UK Government. Labour Ministers must explain the actions of their operator and take immediate action to reverse this reckless decision.”