NEW MINISTER’S LINKS TO ARRESTED BUSINESSMAN

BRITAIN’S new veterans minister earns £85,000 a year from a company linked to the scandal over collapsed London Capital & Finance.

Johnny Mercer is employed by The Crucial Group, a training firm set up by businessman Paul Careless, who was later arrested by fraud investigators.

On Sunday, former army officer Mercer (pictured) was appointed as a junior defence minister to oversee veterans’ affairs.

Sources said he was still deciding whether he must give up his role as a director of Crucial. Crucial was founded by Careless (pictured inset

right with Mercer) to train veterans in cyber-security. But he severed ties with the firm after becoming embroiled in a scandal over collapsed savings business LCF, which went bust owing £237m to 11,500 people.

The ex-policeman ran a marketing business which promoted toxic bonds to LCF savers and made £58m in fees.

He was arrested earlier this year as part of a probe into the failure of LCF, and later released without charge.