AIR chief and Ministry of Defence bosses announced last week the future of RAF Lyneham was being reviewed.

They said the imminent arrival of the A400M cargo planes had sparked the need for the review, which had to decide whether to base the entire transporter fleet at Lyneham, or Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Campaigns have been launched to save Lyneham, and North Wiltshire MP James Gray has tabled dozens of parliamentary questions.

But now comes the whisper it could already be a done deal, the review is just a paper exercise, and the powers that be have ruled the axe will fall on Lyneham.

Insiders claim they have been told the decision has already been made to close Lyneham, with the base starting to run down in 2003, and the final closure in 2008.

James Gray is rightly incandescent, but has vowed to make as much noise as possible about Lyneham.

It's clear this is all down to saving money.

If the decision has already been made, the RAF and MoD should have the honesty and decency to come clean about the issue, and drop any pretence that Lyneham still has a fighting chance.