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| Tories remove Army cuts protesters from conference hall | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two retired soldiers have been ejected from the Conservative Party conference hall after heckling Philip Hammond over defence cuts. | Two retired soldiers have been ejected from the Conservative Party conference hall after heckling Philip Hammond over defence cuts. |
| The pair were protesting at plans to axe the second battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. | The pair were protesting at plans to axe the second battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. |
| Joe Eastwood and Ian Brazier accused Mr Hammond of betraying the regiment. | Joe Eastwood and Ian Brazier accused Mr Hammond of betraying the regiment. |
| They refused to sit down when asked to do so by the defence secretary and were escorted from the hall by security guards. | They refused to sit down when asked to do so by the defence secretary and were escorted from the hall by security guards. |
| Mr Hammond promised to speak to the retired soldiers. | Mr Hammond promised to speak to the retired soldiers. |
| Speaking afterwards, retired colonel Ian Brazier said the Ministry of Defence had refused to respond to his requests for information on the planned closure of the regiment. | Speaking afterwards, retired colonel Ian Brazier said the Ministry of Defence had refused to respond to his requests for information on the planned closure of the regiment. |
| The campaigners, who are protesting outside the Tory conference venue in Manchester, say the second battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, which has a history stretching back 336 years, was added to a list of cuts without any explanation. | The campaigners, who are protesting outside the Tory conference venue in Manchester, say the second battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, which has a history stretching back 336 years, was added to a list of cuts without any explanation. |
| Mr Brazier, who joined the Conservative Party last month, said his attempts to get answers had been "frustrated" and "avoided". | Mr Brazier, who joined the Conservative Party last month, said his attempts to get answers had been "frustrated" and "avoided". |
| "My soldiers, the people I have had the honour of serving with, have been betrayed," he told reporters. | "My soldiers, the people I have had the honour of serving with, have been betrayed," he told reporters. |
| He also attacked the government's wider plans to reduce the size of the Army, saying: "It won't be a defence force. It will be incapable of producing anything like the reach the minister seems to think it will have." | He also attacked the government's wider plans to reduce the size of the Army, saying: "It won't be a defence force. It will be incapable of producing anything like the reach the minister seems to think it will have." |
| He called for a more "rational" approach to defence spending and urged Prime Minister David Cameron to sack Mr Hammond and "get somebody who knows what they are doing to look after the forces". | He called for a more "rational" approach to defence spending and urged Prime Minister David Cameron to sack Mr Hammond and "get somebody who knows what they are doing to look after the forces". |