SAS ‘shuts down’ base as it’s hit by defence cuts

THE Special Air Service has been forced to mothball its state-of-the-art base and reduce its training schedule in an apparent cost-cutting move that raises fresh concerns about Britain’s overstretched defence budget.

Commanders of the elite regiment have also drastically cut the numbers of helicopter flights to and from the SAS’s Stirling Lines barracks in Hereford and asked civilian workers to take their summer holidays at the same time as Special Forces soldiers, effectively closing the camp.

Last week, thousands of computers and lights were disconnected at the barracks, and accommodation blocks, offices and training areas will remain closed this week.

Defence sources confirmed the ‘stand-down period’ had been activated but insisted last night that the SAS was continuing to meet its operational requirements, including an around-the-clock response to any terrorist incidents in the UK.

Stirling Lines is home to four squadrons of SAS troops–named A,B,D and G–as well as the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, which is involved in intelligence gathering and undercover operations, and 18 Signal Regiment which provides communications support.

The precise numbers of troops in these units cannot be disclosed.

The Army Air Corps also has a detachment at the base. Its pilots fly the Dauphin II and Gazelle helicopters used to transport Special Forces personnel. As part of the stand- down operation these helicopters have been grounded temporarily. The move comes as the Ministry of Defence faces a £7 billion black hole in its ten-year plan, according to the House of Commons spending watchdog. The Public Accounts Committee said earlier this year that the MoD did not have a credible funding plan to solve the cash crisis.

An SAS source said: ‘Even Special Forces are feeling the pinch now, hence the shutdown. It’s cheaper to send soldiers and civilian support workers to sit at home on full pay than have them doing a shift at a camp burning electricity. Everyone thinks the bean counters make an exception for the SAS and that we’re protected from cuts. It’s no longer the case. Even the SAS has got to make ends meet and if that means closing the camp for a couple of weeks then so be it.’

In a 2015 review of national security strategy and defence, the Government pl edged t o double its investment in Special Forces. This amounted to £2 billion of new money, most of which has been spent on equipment and costly operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

The SAS’s day-to-day budget is now ‘very tight’ according to regimental insiders, even after a further £300 million was pledged by Theresa May in 2017 to fund Special Forces.

Last week the Commander of the Field Army Lieutenant General Ivan Jones conceded the Army was running ‘manageably hot’ in a bid to meet its international commitments foll owing huge cuts to the Armed Forces: since 2012, troop numbers have fallen from 102,000 to 74,440.

The MoD declined to comment.

‘Everyone thinks the SAS is protected. It’s not true’