MoD is wrong to scrap historic battalion before the Gurkhas, says MP Crispin Blunt, the former justice minister who also left the Government last month, urged the Ministry of Defence to consider cutting the Gurkhas ahead of other battalions. He said: "I am going to do the strategic equivalent of invading Russia and China and take aim at Joanna Lumley and the Gurkha lobby. It is a particular pity that we are talking about the disbandment of a British line infantry battalion when there are battalions of essentially foreign mercenaries in our army. John Baron, another Conservative MP, led the back-bench debate in Parliament which coincided with a march through Westminster by former and current members of 2nd Bn, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Speaking before a parliamentary gallery packed with members of the Fusiliers, Mr Baron said he believed the decision to wind up the battalion was taken through political calculation rather than military logic. In response to letters and inquiries to the MoD, and in response to written Parliamentary questions, the evidence is there for all to see that 2RRF should not be in this position. It should not be axed because its recruitment and retention record is excellent," he said. I cannot help but come to the conclusion this rather silly rule that there should be regimental losses limited to one battalion is a political fix ahead of the Scottish referendum. Speaking earlier, Sir Alan Beith, a senior Liberal Democrat MP, said: "It's the wrong decision, for the wrong reasons with the wrong results for the efficiency of the Army and the defence and security of this country." Andrew Robathan, the defence minister, insisted the decision to close the battalion was 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. Mr Robathan said: "We have come to this decision after a great deal of consideration and analysis, and frankly the Army and the regiments concerned now are looking to get on with the very difficult task of implementing these decisions which, frankly, have not been palatable." Sources added that the Gurkhas were part-funded by the Sultan of Brunei so big savings could not be made.