Protests against army cuts

Parents of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are to take part in protests against plans to reduce the size of the British Army.

Demonstrations will take place at 61 war memorials around the UK including in Manchester.

The action was organised earlier this month by Dee Edwards of the Protest Against MoD Cuts group.

It follows plans to cut the Army from 102,000 to 82,000 personnel - the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, is one of the battalions set to disappear.

Ms Edwards said at the time: "What the MoD are doing is completely wrong.

"What happens to all of these thousands of people when they are made redundant - how many more ex-soldiers are going to end up on the streets?

"We will be holding the protests at 1100 BST, the same time as Armistice Day is marked, to remember all the soldiers' lives who have been lost and to think about all the ones that could die in action in the future."

Under the plans the Army will be about half the size it was during the Cold War era - it had more than 163,000 troops in 1978.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the new-look Army would be a "forward-looking, modern fighting machine".

The restructuring was drawn up under a plan by Lt Gen Nick Carter, and referred to as Army 2020.