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| Red Arrows RAF Scampton air base to be sold off | Red Arrows RAF Scampton air base to be sold off |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The home of the Red Arrows air display team is to be sold off, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. | The home of the Red Arrows air display team is to be sold off, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. |
| RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, which was also the headquarters of 617 Squadron as they prepared for the Dambusters mission in World War Two, has been home to the Red Arrows since 2000. | RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, which was also the headquarters of 617 Squadron as they prepared for the Dambusters mission in World War Two, has been home to the Red Arrows since 2000. |
| Six hundred people currently work at the site near Lincoln. | Six hundred people currently work at the site near Lincoln. |
| The MoD is also closing RAF Linton on Ouse in North Yorkshire where 300 people work. | The MoD is also closing RAF Linton on Ouse in North Yorkshire where 300 people work. |
| 'Serious blow' | |
| In May 1943, Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron left RAF Scampton to carry out air raids on the dams of the Ruhr valley. | In May 1943, Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron left RAF Scampton to carry out air raids on the dams of the Ruhr valley. |
| The base has been at the heart of RAF operations ever since, but after surviving countless rounds of defence cuts it is now being sold as the MoD tries to save billions of pounds. | The base has been at the heart of RAF operations ever since, but after surviving countless rounds of defence cuts it is now being sold as the MoD tries to save billions of pounds. |
| By 2022 the Red Arrows will move to another base. | By 2022 the Red Arrows will move to another base. |
| Sir Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, said he was "saddened" that the base, which is in his constituency, was to be sold "as part of cost-saving measures". | |
| He tweeted: "Not the best way to mark the #RAF100: closing the home of the RAF Red Arrows and Dambuster squadron." | |
| Lincolnshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones said losing the base "was as serious a blow as Lincoln losing the cathedral" would be. |