Minister defends Aldergrove move

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Fewer than 100 jobs will be lost as a result of the Ministry of Defence's decision to relocate personnel from RAF Aldergrove, Bob Ainsworth has said.

The armed forces minister made the announcement during a Westminster debate on the decision to move staff to RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.

He denied accusations from South Antrim MP William McCrea that the decision had been taken in a "cavalier fashion".

The DUP representative said the move would leave many people out of work.

Mr Ainsworth denied there had been any abuse of procedure in making the announcement.

He also said that the MoD had considered consolidating RAF forces at Aldegrove - but that the cost of moving existing training facilities at Benson was prohibitive.

Last month, the government announced that 230 Squadron would be moved out of Northern Ireland.

About 600 of the 700 RAF personnel on the Aldergrove base will be moved to England, along with their families.

The MoD then intends to relocate 38 Engineer Regiment from Massereene Barracks in Antrim to RAF Aldergrove. It will then be closed.

The relocations are expected to be completed by the end of 2010.