Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed the final decision over the future of RAF Marham will be announced within a fortnight.

Numbers of Tornado aircraft, which stationed at both the Norfolk base and RAF Lossiemouth, in Scotland, are expected to be halved as part of the wider defence review.

That means the jets can be accommodated at a single base, leaving the other at risk of closure.

In a letter to Scottish MP Sir Menzies Campbell, Mr Cameron confirmed a final decision would be announced before MPs begin their summer break on July 19.

'We hope that the basing review will conclude as swiftly as possible, and I appreciate the patience of our armed forces, civilian personnel and local communities as this is under way,' he wrote.

'It is imperative that we reach the right conclusions and the best possible outcome for the UK's defence is reached.

'There is a considerable amount of hard work going on across government on this subject, and it is my intention that decisions should be announced before the summer recess at the latest.'

Defence chiefs have spent almost a year reviewing the future of the RAF's Tornado bases, as part of a wider review of Britain's armed forces.

Thousands of servicemen and women are being made redundant, while ships, tanks and aircraft are being scrapped to shave billions off the defence budget.

Two Tornado squadrons have been disbanded, while numbers of aircraft are widely expected to be cut from 130 to 60. Aircraft from Marham were in the air hours after World leaders agreed to use force to defend civilians in Libya against Col Gaddafi's forces.

They flew 3,000-mile sorties from Norfolk to attack Libyan air defences and have played a leading role in the conflict since it began in March.

Politicians and communities across Norfolk united behind an EDP campaign to Make it Marham. More than 36,000 signed a petition to save the base.