Defence Secretary makes RAF base threat in cash row
He says he will axe site in minister’s constituency
‘Abusive and out of all proportion’
DEFENCE Secretary Gavin Williamson threatened to close a key RAF base in a blazing row with a fellow Cabinet minister.
He told Liz Truss to her face that he would axe RAF Marham in her Norfolk constituency unless she scrapped defence cuts.
Mr Williamson made a series of other extraordinary threats to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury including:
Switching its new fleet of F-35 Lightning warplanes to another base;
Banning her from visiting the base if she refused to spend more on defence;
Writing to all 80,000 members of the Armed Forces telling them their ‘paltry’ 3 per cent pay rise was her fault.
The feud has been going on for months. Last month, Mr Williamson told Miss Truss he intended to ban television cameras invited to RAF Marham to publicise a visit by her.
Marham is the new home of the RAF and Royal Navy F-35 Lightning. The first planes arrived in Norfolk in June.
The face to face spending clash between Mr Williamson and Miss Truss, both seen as possible Tory leaders, took place in the summer.
He made similar threats aimed at her in other meetings with Ministry of Defence officials. One said: ‘He said “let’s give her some of her own medicine and move the F-35s or shut Marham so she can feel the pain of defence cuts for herself”. He said the soldiers’ pay rise was paltry and she should be named and shamed for it in a letter to every soldier.’
A Whitehall insider said: ‘Liz was shocked by Williamson’s aggression but stood her ground.’
The confrontation came after she publicly savaged unnamed male Cabinet ministers’ ‘macho’ antics. She said: ‘Those familiar with the 1984 film Gremlins will recall how the cute Gizmo, when fed after midnight, turned into a slime-soaked baddie Stripe.
‘In the same way, there’s a tendency for governments and bureaucracy to multiply and exert further control. Before you know it Gremlins are everywhere.’
Friends of the Defence Secretary claim her Gremlin jibe was directed at him. His ‘baby-faced assassin’ image is fuelled by a Machiavellian style, youthful looks and the fact he kept a pet tarantula in his Commons office when Tory chief whip.
Despite the Defence Secretary’s threats, defiant Miss Truss went to Marham last month and spoke of her pride that she had won her campaign for the jets to be based there, which led to a £250million modernisation of the station.
Mr Williamson is fighting the Treasury over a £20billion ‘black hole’ in the MoD’s ten-year equipment plan. One defence chief who witnessed one of Mr Williamson’s outbursts said: ‘His behaviour was abusive and out of all proportion.’
Former Conservative defence minister Anna Soubry said last night: ‘Mr Williamson needs to take off his macho bovver boots and grow up.’
But he was defended by former Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft, who said: ‘I am aware that Gavin Williamson has taken a very robust position in relation to defence, arguing Britain needs to spend more.’
A spokesman for Mr Williamson said: ‘We have invested £250million upgrading RAF Marham to ensure it remains the home base for the F-35 Lightning force for decades. There are no plans to shut it.
‘We are delighted the Treasury awarded service personnel a 2.9 per cent pay rise which has made a significant difference.’
Miss Truss declined to comment.