Up to 1,500 jobs are likely to axed from the Ministry of Defence police because of deep budget cuts that will also strip the force of its powers to investigate fraud.
The Defence Police Federation said it had received a letter on Thursday from the defence minister Andrew Robotham which confirmed that the budget would be reduced from £300m to £180m.
The union estimates that the civilian force, which is responsible for providing security to some of the UK's most sensitive military bases, such as the nuclear submarine base at Faslane, in Scotland, will only be able to afford 2,000 staff, down from 3,500.
Some of the job losses will come from voluntary redundancies, but the union expects between 400 and 800 will need to be compulsory.
No formal announcement has been made, but the Guardian has also learned that the MoD police is to be stripped of its powers to investigate suspected fraud in complex and lucrative procurement projects.
An internal memo circulated to senior staff in the department this week said it was one of a range of extra measures needed because money was so tight.
The leaked memo said: "Other measures include reducing the [military defence police force] CID to intelligence analysis and removing all anti-fraud detection capability and relying on local police forces."
Describing the measures as being in the "high pain" category, the memo said regular soldiers would have "to take on unarmed guarding duties at most fleet, land and air sites". These jobs are currently undertaken by specifically trained military guard services.
There are 153 detectives in the MoD police, short of the full complement of nearly 200 because some officers have not been replaced.
Eamon Keating, national chairman of the federation, said the cuts would put national security and public safety at risk. He disputed a recent claim by the prime minister that cuts would not lead to a reduction in security around Faslane and the Royal Navy armament depot at Coulport in Scotland.
"Less than a month ago, the prime minister stood in the House of Commons and insisted there were no plans to cut the MoD police presence at two of our most important sites," Keating said. "It is a fact that plans for cuts at these sites do exist, and the bottom line is that the prime minister and the Ministry of Defence have and are continuing to mislead parliament on what is an issue of national security.
"The MoD's decision to cut the MoD police's budget is shocking and completely irresponsible, and is based on a consultation that has been flawed from the very start. We all know that savings have to be made, but in making this decision ministers have said very clearly that this government cares more about the bottom line than the safety and security of our armed forces and the general public."
Keating said it would be "ludicrous and dangerous" if the MoD police also lost its CID anti-fraud units. "Our CID is cost neutral because they investigate crimes that save the MoD money. What kind of police force are we if we cannot investigate anything? Our CID units investigate procurement fraud which requires a great deal of skill and experience. Who will be able to do that now?"
David Cameron was asked about security at defence bases during questions in the House of Commons. He said there were "no current plans to reduce the number of MoD police officers at either Faslane or Coulport. These are absolutely vital sites."
An MoD spokesperson said a review had concluded there was "scope for some changes" that would focus the force's resources "where they can best mitigate the crime and security risks faced by the MoD".
"We will continue to safeguard defence sites, people, assets and information and would never contemplate changes that would place these in jeopardy. Security at defence nuclear sites is absolutely paramount and changes to the MoD police that have been agreed will not undermine the security in place at Faslane and Coulport."
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