One of the strangest myths circulating during the Covid-19 pandemic originates in the west of Scotland.
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Some are claiming, based on what they’ve seen on social media, that secret bases are being built around Glasgow to put the city into lockdown, with Strathclyde Park often being named along with Govan as locations for bases being built in the night.
None of this is true and we’ve had that confirmed by the British Army and also by James Heappey MP, the Minister for the Armed Forces. Many other sources have backed this up.
The claim stems from the social media and the myth of a lockdown spreading via WhatsApp. Read more about it here and here.
The source for this latest rumour is below, some of you might remember the source as the same one that managed to spread a false claim that the Queen had died last year.
Despite what you might read in fake news, the @BritishArmy has NOT adopted formally WhatsApp or any such messaging app.
We do, however, endorse Defence Connect, which is based on Jive software (and we own the servers) as our enterprise social network.
Be careful out there. pic.twitter.com/O7YixFrHdb— Colonel Chris MacGregor ?? (@ArmyComms_Col) March 18, 2020
Some are also claiming some sort of ‘inside knowledge’, they’re wrong too.
At some point there may well be a lockdown and the Government are looking at service personnel usage during Covid-19 outbreak but the claims that secret bases are being built up around Glasgow are not true.
What will they be used for?
• 150 troops are learning to drive oxygen tankers to supply hospitals
• Soldiers are preparing to fill some roles in police, prison service & border force
• Reservists are also likely to be called up
In addition, the Armed Forces are on standby to assist with civil emergencies and the MoD are deploying nurses, surgeons and other healthcare trained personnel to assist where required.
There are rumours that the Duke Of Edinburgh has passed away too, but the news is being withheld as not to let it get in the way of Government announcements on the virus? Aldershot will be the main coordination base for UK Forces during the crisis, and I believe more could be called to assist, including the TA before this virus is done.
He was seen on tv today so not true
P.S. I doubt the Duke Of Edinburgh rumour is true either, so who initiates such rubbish?
How did that photo get past the Chain of Command ? Firearm, with mag on, lying loose on the bench top pointing in the general direction of the soldiers in the chair, just waiting to be bumped over the side to possibly discharge! Scary on several counts!
Whilst it is clear this story is fake, it does seem that 10k troops have been put on standby to reinforce the police/ keep hospitals running.
10k is for sure not there to put the country into lockdown, as it is no where near enough, considering there are 31k policeman in London alone.
This is like those conspiracy theorists that insist there are hundreds of camps throughout the USA set up by FEMA to be used as concentration camps for when the new world order impose martial law.
Apparently there are several in the UK. One crackpot Youtube show was highlighting the place in Scotland on Google Earth. I checked it out, and their barbed wire fences when looked at from above were actually an electrical sub station.
When I challenged the guy he just ignored me.
No doubt there are many things the military will be used for, and agencies like DSTL.
“Bases” won’t need to be secret. There are numerous ARC’s that can be used, existing MoD installations, and so on.
Maybe low key things built in parks will be things like, heaven forbid, Mortuaries.
According to the BBC, there’s already a temporary morgue set up in London.
Yes I saw that, which is why I suggested it.
Yes Ian….it is called Bush House!
🙂
The funny thing is, if they were building a secret base then it would be a secret and so everyone would deny it. Tin hats prepared.
I was given information that there is a temporary mortuary being built at Strathclyde Park. This is due to the local hospitals not having the capacity for this pandemic.
The information you were given is wrong.
Do you know for sure as my information came from staff in a local hospital who have been in meetings all week?
I wouldn’t discount my information without considering the situation. To blatantly say I am wrong with nothing to back it up is arrogant especially when it was disclosed today that mobile refrigerated units usually used by the military have been deployed to locations around Scotland.