Campaigners battling to save York's army headquarters were today given a TRIPLE boost.

A cross-party group of 31 MPs signed an Early-Day Motion opposing closure of the divisional HQ at Imphal Barracks, which would mean the loss of more than 200 jobs.

Armed Forces Minister John Reid issued a statement saying he could well understand York's concerns about retaining the HQ, and giving an assurance he would listen very carefully and sympathetically to its case.

Imphal union leader Ian MacLaren said the Army now accepted his argument that retaining an HQ in York would be substantially cheaper than the alternative option to move it to Edinburgh.

The Army has been considering merging the York-based 2nd Division with the Edinburgh-based Scottish Division, and siting the new joint division in the Scottish capital.

A meeting last night of the Yorkshire and Northern groups of Labour MPs gave unanimous support to York MP Hugh Bayley's campaign to retain the HQ in this city. The MPs agreed to send a delegation to lobby Dr Reid against closure of the York HQ, which they branded "nonsensical".

Mr Bayley subsequently tabled the motion, which says the "great North of England regiments and military traditions are just as important to northern England as the Scottish traditions are to Scotland."

The motion, which also states that almost 11,000 of the 13,000 regular soldiers under a combined headquarters currently serve under York command, and that only 12 per cent of army recruits come from Scotland compared with 39 per cent from northern England, has won Tory support from Canterbury MP Julian Brazier, former Territorial Army member and a member of the Commons defence select committee.

Dr Reid stressed in his statement that no decisions have yet been taken, adding: "It would be wrong to assume any particular outcome from the review of Divisional headquarters, which is being conducted in the context of the Strategic defence Review. "On the contrary, I have made it very plain that no conclusions have been reached...

"I urge the community in York not to jump to premature, and potentially incorrect, conclusions."

More than 650 Evening Press readers have backed the campaign to site the HQ at Imphal, seeking to save York's long military traditions as well as the jobs of administrative staff involved in accountancy, budgetary, secretarial, information technology support, contracting and purchasing work for the army.

Mr Bayley said the MP's backing gave the campaign an important fillip, and the deputation would press Dr Reid hard to keep the HQ in York.

Kevin Barron, Yorkshire group chairman, said the York area had already suffered too many job losses and no more should be inflicted.

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