SNP MP AND MSP RESPOND TO ROCKET RANGE REPRIEVE

SNP MP AND MSP RESPOND TO ROCKET RANGE REPRIEVE

ISLANDS COMMUNITY FORCE MOD CLIMBDOWN

‘WESTERN ISLES MUST HAVE LONG TERM GUARANTEES’

Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil and MSP Alasdair Allan have hailed confirmation that QuinetiQ has abandoned plans to downgrade operations on the Hebrides Range on the Uists and Benbecula.

The facility had been earmarked for a downgrading exercise which would have cost 125 jobs.

The decision to maintain operations at the Range follows an intense community campaign supported by the Scottish Government and the SNP which included commissioning defence experts to state the compelling case against downgrading operations to the UK Government. Mr MacNeil and Dr Allan also made efforts to secure support for the campaign against downgrading across all parties.

The MSP and MP are now demanding long-term guarantees over the future of the facility and an apology for the workers and their families who have endured months of fear and uncertainty over the future of their jobs.

Commenting, Dr Allan said:

“This climb down is a huge relief for the workers and their families, and a tremendous victory for the community campaign to save these jobs.

“It never made sense to downgrade the Range and the taskforce formed of community groups, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, community landowners and HIE with the full backing of local MP Angus MacNeil and the Scottish Government, have forced this climb down.

“This is great news for the Western Isles and a great victory for the campaign and for common sense but it is deeply disappointing that the UK Government allowed the community to go through the trauma of a closure threat in the first place.

“UK Ministers still have questions to answer over why adverts appeared seeking a project manager to oversee the downgrading. This was deeply disheartening for the people of the Western Isles. From beginning to end, this has been a chaotic and cruel way to treat a workforce and community”.

Angus MacNeil MP added:

“Politically, Labour have been pushed into a corner on this. A sound technical and economic case was made by the taskforce and this was recognised across political parties.

“We must now look to the long term future of the base. There must be real guarantees that efforts will now be put into promoting and investing in the range as the strategically important facility it is. We do not want to be in this situation again in a few years time.

“The fact remains that since Labour came to power in 1997, more than 9,000 defence jobs have disappeared in Scotland. These figures expose the lie of the Labour Government's claim that they support defence jobs north of the border. If it wasn’t for the fight put up by the taskforce, the Hebrides Range could have become another victim of this cut and shut approach.”