THE Ministry of Defence has opened talks on switching jobs from London to York, it was revealed last night.

Officials had a meeting with york-england.com earlier this month, Defence Minister Adam Ingram said.

Mr Ingram - who has also revealed jobs will definitely be relocated to Harrogate - said further talks are scheduled to take place in the next few months.

York-england.com, the city's inward investment board, is hoping to capitalise on the Treasury's Lyons' review.

Under the review, 20,000 Government jobs are to be shifted from London and the South East to the regions.

Two Whitehall departments - widely believed to include the MoD - indicated to the review they would be content to move posts to York.

In the House of Commons yesterday, City MP Hugh Bayley put the case for York to Mr Ingram.

He pointed out the Defence Vetting Agency had been able to "efficiently" create its new headquarters at Imphal barracks in York, with assistance from york-england.com.

Mr Ingram said: "There was a meeting between MOD personnel and york-england.com at a seminar on May 5, and relocation opportunities were discussed in the light of the Lyons report.

In a separate letter to Mr Bayley, Mr Ingram said jobs would be relocated from the South East to Harrogate following the closure of Army Technical Foundation College in the town.

The jobs - the exact number has yet to be finalised - will be based at the college site.

Mr Bayley has already put the case for Department of Work and Pension (DWP) workers to be moved to York.

He is arranging a meeting between DWP officials and the city's inward investment bosses.

The target is that York should gain more jobs through this initiative than it loses through Chancellor Gordon Brown's plans to axe 30,000 DWP posts nationwide.

Updated: 10:41 Tuesday, May 18, 2004