Auditors were visiting Imphal Barracks today during their lengthy investigation into the controversial closure of York's army divisional headquarters.
Two days before the "cross keys" flag of the 2nd Division is lowered at Imphal to mark the headquarters' move to Edinburgh, union leaders were set to spell out why they believe the transfer will cost the taxpayer millions.
The Evening Press reported last year how the unions had calculated the move would cost £104 million over 25 years, through extra bills for staffing, new buildings and additional travelling requirements.
They said this meant the Prime Minister had been wrong when he said in 1998 that the decision had been taken on operational and cost-effectiveness grounds. One of the union leaders, Ian MacLaren, said last night they now believed the costs would be even higher. "You are looking at a quarter of a billion pounds," he claimed.
He said he and colleagues planned to spend a couple of hours explaining their allegations to a principal auditor from the NAO, and would also hand over a 200-page document detailing their calculations and concerns.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article