England

Defence workers take jobs fight to No10

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More than 100 defence workers facing redundancy descended on London today to hand in a petition to 10 Downing Street in the latest round of their fight to save their jobs.

They all work for BAE systems at Brough in East Yorkshire, which is facing closure under BAE plans to axe 3000 jobs.

Brough, which makes the Hawk Jet used by the Red Arrows and parts for the Typhoons, is one of the hardest hit sites, where manufacturing is to cease altogether with the loss of 900 jobs.

The GMB and Unite unions organised today's lobby of Westminster, which saw a petition made up of photographs of the people who will lose their jobs handed in at Downing Street.

They are also talking to MPs who are backing their case, warning skills vital to Britain's defence industry could be lost forever.

While the closure is not a matter that the government has direct control over, unions hope that there may be financial support or new orders to help protect a company that supplies a lot of Britain's defence hardware.