THE Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire is facing the axe under a radical overhaul of the British Army, it has been claimed.

The jobs of more than 100 Gurkhas based at York's Imphal Barracks are also

under threat in the review.

The Ministry of Defence today refused to comment on the "speculation, but

confirmed an announcement would be made shortly on the reorganisation of

fighting forces.

The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire, which has a recruitment team

based at York's Strensall Barracks, is currently serving in Omagh, Northern

Ireland. The troops, whose regimental museum is at Tower Street, York, are due to return to Catterick Barracks by the end of January. Tours are planned for Bosnia and Iraq. But, according to reports, the regiment is one of up to ten facing the chop once the withdrawal of troops from Northern Ireland is completed in 2005.

A total of 9,000 soldiers face redundancy, including troops from the The Royal Scots, the Black Watch, and the King's Own Scottish Borderers.

Some Gurkhas' jobs could be axed with the abolition of one of their two battalions.

Defence officials are said to fear it would be "politically unacceptable" for British units to be disbanded while allowing two battalions of foreign troops to remain.

In a speech in June, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon hinted at cuts when he said military success was no longer so dependent on troop numbers.

A spokesman for the MoD said: "The Secretary of State spoke about how the

armed forces might become more streamlined. He did not release any names of units which might be affected. Until the White Paper is published, we cannot speculate."

She added: "He did say we would have to make tough choices to ensure we are

best equipped to meet the new challenges facing us."

York MP Hugh Bayley insisted that talk about the future of the regiments was purely speculation at this stage.

"It's necessary to review the armed forces to modernise them every few years," he said.

"It is best to wait until the Government's proposals are announced because the speculation beforehand is usually wrong."

Updated: 10:31 Monday, November 24, 2003