Future of Red Arrows under review

12 April 2012

The future of the RAF's Red Arrows display team is being considered as part of a review of military spending, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.

But it insisted no decisions had been taken and pointed out that that the famous aerobatics team's budget was set to increase next year.

Opposition MPs told the Sunday Express that axing the squadron would mean the loss of a great "ambassador" for the UK abroad.

Tory MP Gerald Howarth said: "The value of that far exceeds their funding. It is inconceivable that they should be axed."

And Liberal Democrat spokesman Nick Harvey said the Red Arrows "are a public display of Britain's military pride and skill".

"Were they to be axed, we would lose one of the great ambassadors and showcases for our country."

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The costs of all MoD activities are examined on a regular basis.

"A range of proposals are being considered. Decisions will be made some time this year."

He pointed out that the Arrows' budget was scheduled to rise from £5.2 million to £5.6 million next year and their future location was also being considered.

"That does not suggest to me that they are on their last legs," he said.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in