MPs back bid to save battalion

MPs have called on the Government to reverse plans to axe the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (2RRF).

The battalion recruits from across Greater Manchester and has strong ties with Oldham.

Oldham Council is backing the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities’ bid to save the under-threat Fusiliers.

Following more than three hours of debate in the House of Commons, the motion calling for the battalion to be saved was passed 57 to three.

Speaking before a gallery packed with members of the Fusiliers, John Baron said he believed the decision to wind up 2nd Battalion was one taken through political calculation rather than military logic.

But Defence Minister Andrew Robathan insisted the decision to close 2RRF had been taken for sound reasons, including a desire to take no more than one battalion from any regiment as the Army is shrunk from 102,000 to 82,000 as part of the Army 2020 strategy.


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