UK

MOD considers RAF Northolt 'sale' option

RAF Northolt could be sold to private investors under options being considered by the Ministry of Defence to tackle budget shortfalls.

According to a report in The Daily Telegraph one option for the base, which was home to Battle of Britain Spitfire squadrons, is turning it into a satellite airfield for Heathrow.

Its sale could raise hundreds of millions of pounds and is understood to be under consideration as part of a wide review of the defence estate.

The base, which is also used for flights by the Queen, occupies hundreds of acres at Hillingdon, just off the A40.

An MOD spokesman told the newspaper that “all options were on the table” but that the sale of the base was unlikely.