‘Hypocrisy’ in Fort George campaign

SIR, – I would like to fully support The Press and Journal's petition to keep the Fort George barracks open.

However, I am astounded by the hypocrisy of SNP politicians like Drew Hendry and Angus Robertson in this campaign.

The SNP have one policy – the break up of the UK.

This would mean the break up of the British armed forces and the relocation of the defence bases to elsewhere in the UK with a consequent boost to local economies in these areas. We know from the recent GERS figures that an independent Scotland would face immediate tax rises and spending cuts.

There is no question that after quitting the UK, the Nationalists would see the defence budget as far easier to slash than welfare.

It is not just the economic situation in an independent Scotland that would be disastrous for defence jobs.

There would be no political will for strong armed forces. During the referendum campaign in 2014, Nationalist MSP Mark MacDonald told a meeting in Oldmeldrum that an independent Scotland would have a defence and foreign policy like Ireland.

That would mean puny defence spending and an insignificant influence on the global stage.

The continuation of Fort George barracks as well as countless thousands of other defence jobs in Scotland depends on the Union, which people like Angus Robertson and Drew Hendry are determined to smash. Keith Shortreed, Cottown of Gight, Methlick.