A HAMPSHIRE MP in the Territorial Army has hit out after two soldiers died on exercise on the hottest day of the year.

New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne, a major in the TA, said the deaths were tragic especially after the loss of servicemen in Afghanistan.

The two men were on an SAS selection exercise with four others on Sunday when they collapsed with heat exhaustion in the Brecon Beacons.

Mr Swayne was on exercise himself at the weekend near Folkestone.

He said organisers cancelled the six-mile trek in full combat gear due to the heat.

“Commanders always have to take into account that however fit their men may be, exceptional weather conditions take their toll on everyone,” he said.

“Clearly, whoever is in charge will have questions to answer. I don’t want to pre-empt any enquiry but there is an investigation into this and rightly so.

“At a time when we have been tragically losing men to enemies in action, we can’t afford to lose men to weather.”