D-Day looms for RAF Lossiemouth
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D-DAY for RAF Lossiemouth is on the horizon as campaigners anxiously await a final decision on its future.
A statement from Defence Secretary Liam Fox is anticipated on Tuesday in Parliament.
The rollercoaster campaign over the last nine months to save the base is almost over.
While last-minute campaigning and political pressure was still being applied this week, the fate of the base now appears to lie in the hands of Prime Minister David Cameron and other senior Government figures.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox has made his final recommendations, following extensive and prolonged consultation with senior military figures.
Councillor David Stewart, chairman of the Save RAF Lossiemouth Action Group, said: "It has been a long road and the whole of Moray has been very supportive of the campaign. The campaign has brought the community together, not just in Lossiemouth but the whole of Moray.
"If it comes down to economic, social and military arguments, then it should be retained," he added.
Moray MP Angus Robertson said: "This is going to go down to the wire.
"There is no doubt Moray has put over the strongest possible case. I don’t think there has been anything that could have been done, that hasn’t been done."
RAF Kinloss will close as an air base at the end of this month following the decision last October by the UK Government to scrap the new Nimrod MRA4.
The economic impact of that has been keenly felt for the last nine months, and the loss of RAF Lossiemouth would be catastrophic to the economy.
Lesley Ann Parker, co-chair of the Moray Task Force, said: "The people of Moray should be proud of the campaign that they have fought."
Councillor Stewart added: "It has been a long road and the whole of Moray has been very supportive of the campaign," he said.
"We got to deliver our message to David Cameron and it looks as though the final decision is in his hands."
He paid particular tribute to Calum MacPherson, area manager for Highlands and Islands Enterprise in Moray, who led the Moray Task Force for the first six months, and he also praised RAF Lossiemouth’s station commander, Group Captain Andy Hine, for maintaining a "dignified silence while trying to keep the base running".
Mr MacPherson said the message to the UK Government remained unchanged. "The plea is the same now as it was in October last year. Do not deliver a double closure to this defence dependant rural community which has supported the RAF for 70 years.
"The economic and social impact would be the biggest single economic blow to Scotland for decades."
A spokeswoman for the MoD confirmed that the Defence Secretary had made his final recommendations; however, she said there was no definitive date when a final announcement will be made.
