News Release

1st June 2005

WHITTINGTON BARRACKS - ANOTHER REVIEW ANNOUNCED

Adam Ingram MP, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, has just written to Michael Fabricant to announce yet another review into the future of Whittington Barracks. In his letter, he says: "There will be a Review into the siting of Infantry Regimental Headquarters (RHQs). I am writing to inform you as I am aware that an Infantry RHQ is located within your constituency.... The RHQ Review is expected to make recommendations by the end of the year. It is obviously far too early to speculate about the likely outcome of the Review..... The Review will not look into museums. However, where museums are co-located with RHQs, the implications for the museums will have to be determined and weighed in consideration of options."

Michael Fabricant says: "So this now makes three concurrent reviews all which might affect the future of our barracks. I note that the Government did not choose to announce this latest review before election day.

"The first review is into which Army Training Regiment base will be closed. The ATR currently has a base at Whittington. The second is a general review into the future of all MOD property and will take into account the outcome of the first review. And this latest third review, only just announced, again affects Whittington Barracks as it is the Regimental HQ of the Staffordshire Regiment which has now been merged into the Mercian Regiment. The consequence, which I predicted before the general election, is that the Government might well conclude that now the Staffordshire Regiment no longer exists as such, there is no need for it to have a Regimental HQ. This could be just the beginning of the fall out from the Government's decision to merge the Staffords in with two other historic regiments.