learned yesterday.

UK Secretary of State for Defence the Hon. Malcolm Rifkind will announce this morning in the House of Commons that his Government will close down HMS Malabar in Dockyard on April 1, 1995.

The closure, confirmed by Governor Lord Waddington after inquiries by The Royal Gazette , will mark the end of more than two centuries of British naval presence on the Island.

News of the withdrawal worried Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan who viewed it as "a further erosion of ties with the British Government''.

He was also unhappy about the timing -- just six months before the likely closure date of the US Naval Air Station and two years since the Canadian Forces withdrew.

The Island's mother country "could have given us more time'' Sir John said after learning of the pull-out. Britain spent less than one million pounds a year to run Malabar, he noted.

"We are getting ready to lose the Americans. We have lost the Canadians -- and now the British.'' Sir John said the news had not surprised him because the British had hinted at it. But he had not expected a full withdrawal as early as 1995.

Lord Waddington said in a statement: "It will be sad to see HMS Malabar close but this will not mean that there will not continue to be the closest defence links between the United Kingdom and Bermuda . .. Royal Navy ships will continue to call.'' But Sir John said Bermuda would first have to look at ways of servicing and hosting visiting NATO ships and submarines plus their crews, which Malabar had taken an increasing role in dealing with after the US Naval Annex closure.

"If we find it is not practical for us to deal with them, then we can not accommodate them at all,'' he said.

In a letter conveyed to the Premier yesterday by Lord Waddington, Mr. Rifkind said: "(Malabar's) strategic importance has greatly diminished.'' He said the British Government had been undertaking a "thorough examination'' of the UK's defence requirements in light of "international development and available resources''.

"For almost two centuries since construction work began on the Royal Navy's facilities in 1810, Bermuda provided the UK and more recently the NATO alliance with a valuable asset in a strategically significant location,'' Mr.

Rifkind said.

Today, it was no more than a "convenient location'' for Royal Navy and other NATO vessels for refuelling, minor repair, maintenance and rest.

Mr. Rifkind said he had decided after "full consideration and with regret'' that Malabar should be closed.

He added: "I do not intend that the closure of HMS Malabar will end the Royal Navy's ties with Bermuda.'' Lord Waddington said a planned visit by Defence Staff Chief Sir Peter Harding would be a reminder of the British Government's "continuing interest in matters relating to the defence of Bermuda''.

And close links would continue to exist between the Bermuda Regiment and the British Army. Currently five members of the Royal Anglian Regiment were attached to the Regiment.

This summer Sir John paid his first official visit to Malabar to prepare a case to show Bermuda's importance to NATO amid a number of rounds of defence cuts by Britain.

At the time he said it provided Bermuda with substantial hidden revenue due to visiting naval ships and their crews. There were also 14 uniformed staff attached and 12 civilians including a number of Bermudians.

Malabar Commander Robin Bawtree had been sceptical of the closure rumours, saying, "It will be here for another 300 years.'' Sir John said already appointed base committees would be tasked with finding a new use for the land, totalling 20 acres, once it was returned. It includes a playing field, new tennis courts and recreation buildings.

Cabinet is currently looking over suggested uses submitted for the 17-acre site of the former Canadian base, Daniel's Head, and the 240-acre US Naval Annex in Southampton. The NAS is on 1,100 acres of land.