FORMER Tory chairman Lord Ashcroft was in Cyprus yesterday to launch the most comprehensive review ever of the efficiency and effectiveness of the British military bases.
Ashcroft made his first trip to the island to gauge opinion from military officers as well as being given a tour of army installations.
“As part of his role in this procedure, Lord Ashcroft met a range of officials and interested parties,” an MOD spokesman told the Cyprus Mail adding that the former Tory peer arrived on a military aircraft at Akrotiri.
In May Ashcroft was tasked by British Prime Minister David Cameron with analysing operations at Akrotiri and Dhekelia as part of the defence and security review, which is expected to recommend draconian cuts in spending on civilian personal and running costs of the garrisons.
The British government wants to reduce all military spending by eight per cent over the next four years, with defence chiefs being told they need to justify “everyone and everything” and that the review would be both “unsentimental and unemotional”.
The study of Cyprus is due to be completed later this year and will identify areas where savings can be made as well as looking at the long-term strategic importance of maintaining a military foothold on the island.
It is widely reported that the bases cost the British taxpayer over €330million annually to maintain and reductions may be sought in downsizing the current 2,900 military personnel and 2,700 civilian workers.
It is understood that the study will also look at the cost-effectiveness of employing 260 SBA police officers and 50 customs officers on a full-time basis.
Cutbacks on the bases have already been implemented, last year several-dozen civilian contractors were given redundancy notices and a series of spending cuts, on cleaning, house maintenance and even school transport for the children of soldiers was also introduced.
Analysts predict that Akrotiri will most likely to be left unscathed as it is seen as a vital front-line base and is actively used for operations in Libya and Afghanistan, but Dhekelia is no longer considered as having any military value and will possibly bear the brunt of downsizing.
It is unclear if the top-secret listening station at the Ayios Nikolaos, which sits on the Green Line near occupied Famagusta, will be included in the review.
Despite much speculation in the local press, it is unlikely that the review will lead to the British military leaving Cyprus altogether.
Last month the MoD issued a release which stated: “reviewing British Sovereign Bases does not include pulling out of the bases. Strategically, the bases in Cyprus are very important for Great Britain.”
It has also recently emerged that a continued British presence on the island would be seen as favourable by the United States. A WikiLeaks cable drafted at the US London embassy titled The Guide to British Overseas Territories stated: “The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on Cyprus are notable for their strategic value to the US government. They are geographically distinct military bases. RAF Akrotiri is an important aircraft staging point and one of the few major RAF stations located outside the United Kingdom.”
The UK retained sovereignty over the bases when it granted the island independence in 1960.
