Tory MP saves colleague from drowning

A CONSERVATIVE MP and former Army officer rescued a fellow politician who nearly drowned because he was afraid to admit that he could not swim.

Johnny Mercer jumped into the sea off Cornwall to help Scott Mann after he got into trouble during a summer boat trip.

Mr Mann said he was too embarrassed to admit that he was unable to swim so had “thrown caution to the wind and jumped in”. Mr Mann, the Conservative MP for North Cornwall, said the incident had left him “exhausted on a beach, struggling for breath, vomiting and terrified” after “letting my ego get in the way of my ability”.

Mr Mann said: “Johnny moored the boat to the buoy off the beach and said, ‘Let’s swim in.’ I looked at the distance between the boat and the beach, working out I only needed to get halfway and I would be able to stand on the sand. I was in the water about a minute and a half before I got into trouble.” He said he was about 75 yards from the boat when he started to panic and became scared before shouting for help from his friend. He added: “Johnny was great. Although he ribbed me a bit, he understood it was something I felt uncomfortable with.”

Mr Mercer, a former Army officer, said he could tell something was wrong as he saw his friend in the water. He told the Plymouth Herald: “I got hold of him and swam him to the shore. He was shaken up so I bought him a beer and told him to forget about it.”