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One of the country’s leading unions called for Britain to leave the European Union at its Annual General Meeting in Newcastle.

The RMT said a vote to stay in the EU at the forthcoming referendum would “decimate” the health and education sectors because of “secret deals” it was doing with North America.

General secretary Mick Cash said: “EU policies are at odds with the aspirations of this union as the various treaties and directives are demanding the privatisation of our rail and ferry industries.

“The EU is also secretly negotiating trade deals with the US and Canada which will decimate of health and education sectors and hand huge powers to transnational corporations over nation states and their governments.

“The Tories will be campaigning to stay in the EU come any referendum as they support this right wing, neo-liberal, anti-worker agenda,” he said.

Meanwhile Mr Cash and delegates from the AGM joined local officials to stage a protest at Newcastle Central Station on Thursday morning over cuts and privatisation in the rail industry.

The protest came on the eve of the closing deadline for bids for Northern Rail services with the RMT joining Northern MPs in warning against a foreign takeover of northern rail services.

Mr Cash said: “It was a very successful and colourful protest. We got a great response from the people of Newcastle who shared our concerns.”

The union claims the re-privatisation of Northern and TransPennine Express services will lead to over a billion pounds leaking out of railways in the North to subsidise foreign railways and shareholder dividends.

Only Dutch, French and German state railway have been shortlisted to take over Northern railways.