Minister sacked in row over treatment of NI veterans
VETERANS minister Johnny Mercer was sacked last night after threatening to quit in a row over the prosecutions of retired soldiers who served in Northern Ireland.
The Tory MP is understood to have signalled he would resign in frustration over the Government’s failure to protect former troops over crimes allegedly committed during the Troubles.
Mr Mercer later said he was “sorry to have been relieved of my responsibilities” and he had been “forced” to quit.
The former Army officer said the Government continues to “say all the right things” but he remains “genuinely appalled” by the way some veterans are being treated.
“I fought and bled alongside them, I’ve been far more fortunate than many of them since and I have a duty to tell their truth to power,” the defence minister wrote to Boris Johnson. Mr Mercer said almost all allegations about Troubles veterans had been investigated at the time but they were facing probes now despite no new evidence emerging.
He said the former soldiers had been “abandoned” in a way he could not reconcile, adding: “Whilst endless plans are promised and solutions mused, veterans are being sectioned, drinking themselves to death and dying well before their time
– simply because the UK government cannot find the moral strength or courage we asked of them in bringing peace to Northern Ireland, in finding a political solution to stop these appalling injustices.” Mr Mercer was said to have been sacked by text message.
Mr Johnson thanked him for his service as a minister.
A No10 spokesman said: “This evening the Prime Minister has accepted the resignation of Johnny Mercer as Minister for Defence People and Veterans.”
“He thanks Johnny Mercer for his service as a Government minister since 2019.”
Mr Mercer had planned to quit his post, it is understood, once legislation on new legal protections for former troops passed through Parliament.
He signalled that the Overseas Operations Bill does not go far enough in shielding veterans of the Troubles.
In a video on YouTube, the Plymouth Moor View MP, criticised a lack of support from colleagues over Northern Ireland ex-soldiers.
He said: “Politicians are really good about talking a great game when it comes to our military, but when it comes to actually doing something for them like voting to end repeat prosecutions of our service men and women they go running for the hills.”
A number of former soldiers now in their 70s face charges over alleged offences from 50 years ago. Two veterans, only identified as Soldiers A and C, are due to go on trial this month for the murder of Joe McCann, commander of the Official IRA, in April 1972.