DEFENCE firm QinetiQ has pledged its future to Malvern after months of bad news.

The company, based in St Andrew’s Road, says its long-term future lies in the town, which may provide some relief to its 900 employees.

QinetiQ has either already shed or announced 300 job losses to date. But, following a meeting with company chiefs at the site, Malvern’s MP Harriett Baldwin said she was “pleased to see that QinetiQ has a long-term plan to stay in the area.”

She toured the site and was shown a number of recently-developed products that are being sold to customers in the Middle East, America and Australia.

The firm also showed Mrs Baldwin a presentation highlighting plans to develop the site and create housing, office space and a technology park in place of a current array of huts and post-war offices.

She said: “The company is building a good future for its staff. I was very impressed by the important work I was shown and am pleased to see QinetiQ has a long-term plan to stay in the area.”