LABOUR HAUNTED BY LEGACY OF MILITARY CUTS AND DOWN-SCALING

LABOUR HAUNTED BY LEGACY OF MILITARY CUTS AND DOWN-SCALING MILITARY CHIEF’S ROBUST CRITICISM ADDS WEIGHT TO LABOUR’S DEFENCE FAILURE SNP Westminster Leader and candidate for Moray, Angus Robertson, has slammed Labour’s decision to cut defence budgets in the middle of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, after Scotland’s most senior army officer at the time described the cuts as “plain bonkers”. Sir Alistair Irwin, former commanding officer of the Black Watch and adjutant general from 2003- 2005, said the decision to cut the fighting force was motivated by a lack of money. Gordon Brown had claimed spending rose every year while he was at the helm of the Treasury – an assertion he was later forced to revoke. Commenting Mr Robertson said: “Scotland has suffered more than 10 thousand defence job losses since 1997, there have been base closures and a mammoth £4.3 billion defence under-spend at the hands of a Labour Government. This damning criticism by Sir Alistair Irwin just adds to the weight of Labour’s defence failure. “Gordon Brown is the man who signed the cheques which bankrolled the illegal war in Iraq and he is also the man who slashed spending for our troops once they were committed on two fronts. “This robust criticism by the very man in charge of army manpower will resonate deeply with the thousands of troops who bore the brunt of the cuts while fighting for their country. “The safety of our military personnel must be of paramount importance and it is profoundly troubling that military chiefs were forced to delay projects and axe infantry regiments due to funding constraints. “It was these regimental cuts that eventually led to a reduction in Scottish regiments and the subsequent reorganization of Scotland’s historic regiments into the Royal Regiment of Scotland – a move which met fierce criticism. The SNP is committed to restoring those Scottish infantry regiments. “The legacy of military cuts and down scaling haunts this Labour Government. The humiliating climb down on military spending by Gordon Brown – where he was forced to admit his claims spending had risen year on year while he was at the Treasury were false – will not be forgotten by voters when they go to the polls on May 6th.