Julie Henry and Robert Watts
The Telegraph
November 27, 2011

Soldiers will be deployed if enough civil service volunteers cannot be found to keep Britain open for business, according to Damian Green, the Immigration Minister.

In an escalation of rhetoric, he warned that the strikes by public service workers – including immigration officials – could not be allowed to tarnish the country’s image and threaten the economy by effectively closing airports, with fears of 12-hour delays at terminals.

Airlines have been asked to halve the number of passengers they fly into Heathrow next week.

“It is very important, as a trading nation, that we remain open for business,” Mr Green said.

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