Cesspit where almost nobody tells the truth
Sacked minister’s stark verdict on life in Parliament
SACKED former veterans minister Johnny Mercer launched a devastating attack on the Government last night and described Parliament as a ‘cesspit’ where ‘almost nobody tells the truth’.
In a furious radio interview Mr Mercer, 39, tore into former colleagues on a personal and professional level, while branding Whitehall officials ‘children who would frankly be unemployable anywhere else’.
He also said Conservative MPs had routinely broken promises to support troops in Northern Ireland court cases, and said he felt like ‘the last person in the room’ when it came to keeping these pledges to soldiers.
His astonishing tirade came just 24 hours after Boris Johnson sacked him by text message from his ministerial post.
Mr Mercer, a former Army captain and Afghanistan veteran, had intended to quit over the Ministry of Defence’s failure to support elderly troops facing murder trials in the Province.
But he was removed from his post on Tuesday evening after a row with government insiders.
His open letter to the Prime Minister released the same evening was incendiary enough, accusing Mr Johnson of ‘abandoning’ desperate troops who felt so let down they were ‘drinking themselves to death and dying before their time’.
But last night Mr Mercer launched an even more explosive attack on the Government, accusing almost everyone of being a coward and a liar. He told Times Radio: ‘It is the most distrustful, awful environment I have ever worked in. It is a bit of a cesspit, almost nobody tells the truth.
‘On supporting Northern Ireland veterans there were endless promises but zero delivery. Seven times at the despatch box I promised to bring forward legislation to prevent injustices in this area and every time it did not happen. This was a gross betrayal of people who sign up to serve in the military.
‘I didn’t deliver on what I said I would and I am accountable to these veterans. I felt like the last person in the room when it came to keeping the promises we had made. I played with a straight bat. If you are not prepared to stand up and do the right thing you are a coward and this was going on in Westminster all the time.’
Mr Mercer’s sacking and his withering critique of Westminster came just days before two paratroopers accused of murdering an IRA commander are due to stand trial.
The troops, aged in their 70s, will become the first Army veterans to appear in court since the Good Friday Agreement.
Soldiers A and C, as they are known for legal reasons, say they have forgotten precise details of the incident while forensic evidence is scarce. An inquest into Joe McCann’s death in April 1972 returned an open verdict.
Given their age and poor health Mr Mercer had hoped legislation to protect Northern Ireland veterans could be brought in before the trial began. He said last night that prior to his sacking Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told him not a word had yet been committed to paper on this prospective bill.
Downing Street said last night that next month’s Queen’s Speech would ‘reconfirm our intention to bring forward the legislation on this issue’.
‘Distrustful, awful environment’