George Robertson is not the first Defence Secretary to view the Territorial Army as an easy target for cutbacks. Back in the early 1990s, Malcolm Rifkind reduced the strength of the TA by 14,500.

Where the Tory Government went with its Options For Change programme, Mr Robertson is following with his Strategic Defence Review. He plans to reduce the Territorials by a further 16,000.

But there must be a question as to whether Britain's reserve forces can take any more drastic cuts under the guise of military restructuring.

The Defence Secretary had the nerve yesterday to sell the downsizing exercise as part of a package to strengthen the TA. That argument will get short shrift from defence leaders.

Ironically, the Commons announcement on the cutbacks has been postponed until tomorrow by the military manoeuvrings in the Gulf. The details as to how close British and American forces came to carrying out air strikes on Iraq only emerged today.

If Mr Robertson cannot see the relationship between this weekend's developments and the importance of a strong volunteer army, he is being wantonly myopic.

Our professional forces have been streamlined to reflect the new world order. The Gulf War and Saddam Hussein's subsequent brinkmanship prove the need for rapidly reacting military firepower.

But that makes a large, well-trained reserve force all the more important. While our slim-line Army is on the offensive in the Gulf or keeping the peace in Eastern Europe, the skills of our part-time soldiers become ever-more fundamental to Britain's defence.

Strategic considerations are not the only ones in these debate. The swingeing cuts thought to be in store for the Territorial Army will also deal a further blow to North Yorkshire's military traditions.

According to a leaked report, one of the three York TA centres could be lost. And the Territorial presence could be wiped out in Scarborough and Northallerton.

Ministers seem determined to undermine the North's role as the backbone of the British Army. York is still reeling from the unforgivable decision to axe the 2nd Division headquarters. Now the TA's historic links with the area are set to be significantly weakened.

And the Territorial Army has a crucial community role. It raises the profile of the regular Army, acting as an unofficial recruitment agency.

Mr Robertson appears ready to gamble with this legacy. It is a risk he should not take. Last month York Hugh Bayley told the Commons that to lose the Army HQ and TA units from the city would be "absolutely intolerable". He is right.

see NEWS 'Fears mount over TA future'

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