TOKEN TURNAROUND ON TA CUTS.

Commenting on the UK Government’s cuts concession on Territorial Army training announced in an urgent question this afternoon (Monday), SNP Westminster Leader and Defence spokesperson Angus Robertson MP, who has led calls for the cuts to be abandoned, called for the government to clarify the financial consequences of the decision for the TA in Scotland.

Mr Robertson said:

“This embarrassing about-turn has nothing to do with what’s right for the TA, and everything to do with Gordon Brown’s fear that Labour’s cuts will turn into a political disaster rivalling his humiliation over the Gurkhas.

“This announcement is only a token turnaround, and Ministers still need to spell out what the impact of these cuts will be in Scotland where we already have a £4.3bn defence underspend.

“The fact is that Labour keep making the wrong choices on cuts – whether it’s cutting Scottish spending in the teeth of recession or cutting TA training while blowing billions on a new generation of Trident nuclear weapons. These choices underline just how out of touch Labour is.

“The SNP have a simple suggestion for the Prime Minister if he wants to make efficiency savings – he should focus on cutting Trident.

“The TA are more than ‘weekend warriors’ - right now five hundred territorial officers are making a significant operational contribution in Afghanistan. Closing down training for the next six months could have real repercussions, and Ministers have not addressed that. You can’t cut training for six months without a knock on effect down the line in terms of operations and recruitment.”