The future of historic Scottish military regiments will be debated at Westminster this week.
A cross-party campaign was launched last week over fears that names such as Black Watch and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders could be lost, and Scottish MPs called on Defence Secretary Philip Hammond to "Respect Our Regiments".
The SNP have secured a debate on the issue for Wednesday and have also claimed that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is in the process of the biggest defence asset sell-off since the end of World War II.
SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said: "We must have clear unequivocal answers from the MoD over the future of the UK Government's commitment to a defence footprint in Scotland - that means capabilities as well as cap badges.
"The MoD appears to be in the process of a massive fire sale, perhaps the biggest sell-off since demobilisation after the Second World War.
"In just three years they have sold off or junked in excess of £17bn on land, property and equipment.
"We need to look very closely at this disposal because the stated value of the assets does not mean that the MoD has actually recovered that amount of money - that was just what it was worth. We need further clarity from the Defence Secretary on these details.
"The scrapped Nimrod programme is the ultimate example - at least £3.8bn wasted on one project alone. But it is not just assets that we are losing, but operational capabilities as well. Without Nimrod we now have very limited maritime reconnaissance capabilities.
"The MoD's capabilities and footprint are quickly shrinking, and no more so than in Scotland where there has been more than 11,000 defence job losses and a mammoth £5.6bn defence underspend over the last decade."
Labour, Liberal Democrat and SNP MPs joined the cross-party group and accused Mr Hammond of wanting to "cast aside" the regiments' traditions.
Speculation is rife about the fate awaiting individual regiments as the Government seeks to reduce army numbers from 102,000 to 82,000.
Pete Wishart, SNP MP for Perth and North Perthshire, said the debate is "just as much an issue about boots on the ground as it is about traditions and identity".
He added: "As the MoD have just confirmed, less than 3% of regular army units are now stationed in Scotland - that is just four of 148 major regular army units.
"The UK Government is creating enormous uncertainty for our defence communities and Philip Hammond must come to parliament and make clear what his intentions are."
To leave a comment, please sign in.