A Tornado jet on a training mission crashed into the sea off the west coast of Scotland today. Both aircrew are thought to have survived.

The pilot and navigator, from RAF Lossiemouth, ejected from the aircraft before it crashed into the waters off Gairloch, north of Skye.

They were airlifted to hospital in Inverness after coastguard and lifeboat crews were scrambled by the RAF's air rescue coordination centre at Kinloss airbase, in Moray.

Neither men are thought to have suffered serious injuries. No details about their conditions have yet been released.

It is thought a second Tornado circled the crash site moments after the jet went down.

Lossiemouth and Kinloss airbases are under threat of closure: Kinloss has been told it will be shut down, while local civic and political leaders are fighting to retain Lossiemouth, which could be hit by the spending cuts.

The armed forces minister, Nick Harvey, visited the area today to meet a delegation of campaigners who have urged him to retain both bases.

The Stornoway coastguard station involved in today's rescue may lose its operations centre as part of further cuts to the UK's coastguard service.