Fury at claim soldiers had toleavecentre

A online furore was sparked over an army recruitment drive at The Centre in Livingston after it was claimed that soldiers were asked to leave the premises.

A Facebook post by a shopper said that he was disgusted after seeing soldiers being told to leave The Centre on Tuesday.

The now deleted post sparked an outpouring of condemnation over the alleged actions of The Centre in removing the soldiers.

Iain Black, who said he served for 24 years and has participated in recruitment drives, contacted The Courier to say he was “disgusted” by what had happened.

Mr Black said: “I find this hard to believe that our public can be so mean towards the armed forces going about their job.

“I really find it degrading and disgusting that this has happened. Whatever is wrong with keeping the armed forces in the public eye?”

However The Centre has rejected claims that the soldiers were told to leave the premises saying they were only asked to stop recruiting as they did not have the correct documentation needed for that day.

Patrick Robbertze, Centre director, said: “We welcome and fully support all armed forces organisations who come into the mall on a regular basis to recruit and canvas. We also host and fully support Armed Forces Day every year, which we’ve done since 2013.

“On this occasion, unfortunately the organisation hadn’t formally applied for permission, which includes booking space and preparing licenses and insurance documentation – at no stage were they asked to leave. We will continue to do an extraordinary amount of community activity, including with the armed forces, when agreed in advance.”