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WISHART COMMENTS ON DEFENCE STATEMENT
Commenting on the Defence Statement made in the House of Commons today (Thursday) the Scottish National Party’s Mr Pete Wishart MP, Member of Parliament for Perth & North Perthshire, historic home to the Black Watch, said:
“I greet this statement with a mixture of relief that the threat to the name and distinctive features of the Black Watch have been reprieved and anger at broken promises and further personnel cuts for the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
“The reprieve for the Black Watch name is testament to the pressure that has been brought from across Scottish society, including a debate I instigated in the House of Commons and which was followed by a u-turn from the Defence Minister on his attitude to historic names and cap badges.
“However, there is not a lot more to welcome in this statement than the fact that the Conservative/LibDem coalition have not carried out some of the threats that were being trailed in advance.
“In Opposition the Tories pledged to restore the six Scottish infantry regiments, instead we have seen them give serious consideration to the final snapping of the ‘golden thread’, the slashing of Scottish infantry numbers by nearly a third and reducing the Argylls from a fighting force to a tourist attraction.”
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