TRAINEE pilots in North Yorkshire left fearing the axe amid defence spending cuts must be told their fate quickly according to a local MP.

RAF Linton-on-Ouse is faced with shedding some trainee pilot posts after Government reductions to the Ministry of Defence budget left up to 175 positions in jeopardy.

The airbase has yet to confirm how many roles may be lost, but has admitted it will be affected. York Central MP Hugh Bayley called the situation “appalling”.

He tabled Parliamentary questions yesterday about the implications, and asking whether pilots affected could instead be trained to fly helicopters. He said the news meant efforts to protect Linton-on-Ouse, one of the UK’s top RAF training bases, must be redoubled.

He said the leaking of the RAF cuts would have caused “immense anxiety” among the pilots, who needed to know urgently whether they would stay.

Mr Bayley said it was necessary to retain the number of student pilots and the level of training they receive to meet demand. Reports have suggested the decision would cost £300 million in redundancy costs and writing off completed training for the pilots affected.

Flight Lieutenant Dave Williams, from Linton-on-Ouse, said it was already clear that RAF personnel would be reduced by about 5,000 by 2015.

He said: “Due to the reduction of the RAF’s aircraft fleet, the number of student pilots in the Flying Training Pipeline will be reduced by up to 175.

“There will be some redundancies but we will, where possible, consider alternative roles for these trainees, and this will not have an impact on operations.”

He said it was “regrettable” that some student pilots would see their training end in its final stages, but added: “It would not be sensible to spend more money training pilots for whom there is no longer a requirement.”