THE fate of two Scottish military airbases is expected to be sealed today as Ministry of Defence officials recommend to ministers that RAF Leuchars is handed over to the army and RAF Lossiemouth is saved.

The Scotsman has learned that a top-level meeting of service chiefs, senior civil servants and ministers chaired by Defence Secretary Liam Fox will consider a report on the future of the UK's bases.

The talks come in the wake of the historic SNP victory in last week's Holyrood election, which has fuelled demands from the Nationalists for both bases to be saved. However, Whitehall sources have insisted that the Holyrood election "changes nothing" and that the government will "not base any decisions on the election result".

The Scotsman revealed in December that the armed forces favoured saving Lossiemouth at the expense of Leuchars.

The report, drawn up by civil servants, has agreed with the recommendations made by the RAF and the army that Lossiemouth should remain as an RAF base but Leuchars should become the new home for troops returning from Germany.

It also confirms that the third contender for closure, RAF Marham in Norfolk, from which attacks on Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi's forces in Libya have been launched, will remain an airbase.

Before the election, then armed forces minister Nick Harvey had made it clear that the decision on closure would be between the two Scottish bases and not the one in Norfolk.

Another casualty is likely to be Fort George near Inverness, where the Black Watch is currently stationed.

A decision was delayed until after the election but is expected to be announced shortly and according to sources today's meeting was set to be "decisive".

The MoD said that this was so it would not interfere with the purdah period, but it is also understood that the army had been "dragging its heels" over where soldiers coming back from Germany would be rebased.

However, SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson has written to Dr Fox demanding a meeting over the future of the bases.

He argued Scotland has taken more than its fair share of cuts and, with RAF Kinloss in his Moray constituency already closed with the cancellation of Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft, shutting two-thirds of the bases in Scotland would be disproportionate.

He also pointed out that by taking 53 constituencies in last week's Holyrood election the SNP now represents almost all the military communities in Scotland, from Rosyth shipyard in the east to Govan shipyard in the west, as well as the bases across the Highlands, in Edinburgh, Fife and the north of Scotland.

In his letter Mr Robertson said: "Scotland voted overwhelmingly for the SNP, the only party in the Scottish Parliament election campaign with a manifesto commitment to stand up for defence communities."The SNP now represents all of Scotland's constituencies with airbases, all of the country's barracks and came first in the region which is home to the Clyde naval base."

He added: "We reject the continuing disproportionate defence cuts that the past and present London governments have foisted on Scotland.

"Scottish taxpayers contribute their fair share towards the Ministry of Defence and the MoD is happy to recruit personnel from Scotland, so the UK government should take their responsibilities to all of the nations and regions of the UK seriously."

The calls for an urgent meeting were backed by the RAF Leuchars taskforce, which warned that the closure of the Fife RAF base will cost the area 2,550 jobs and take 60 million from the local economy.

Chairman of the taskforce Fraser Phillips, of Fife Economy Partnership, said: "The role of RAF Leuchars is a fundamental and vital component in the defence of UK airspace, given its prime strategic defence position and the significant investment in the base in recent years.

"RAF Leuchars is crucial in delivering the UK's Quick Reaction Alert capability for the north of the UK - aircraft are on high alert 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to intercept unidentified aircraft approaching UK airspace."

The MoD yesterday said it would only hold meetings with First Minister Alex Salmond, not SNP MPs, but refused to say whether it would hold any further ones with Scottish ministers after today's crucial meeting.

An MoD spokeswoman said: "The MoD has engaged with the Scottish Government at ministerial level all through this process and we will continue to do so."