A TORY minister who was fired from Boris Johnson’s government has described Westminster as the "most distrustful, awful environment".
Johnny Mercer, the MP for Plymouth Moor View, told Times Radio that he views politics as a “cesspit” where “almost nobody tells the truth”.
The now former minister was “forced to offer [his] resignation” yesterday after accusing Boris Johnson of failing to uphold a pledge to prevent the prosecution of British Army veterans who had served in Northern Ireland.
Two former members of the parachute regiment, known as Soldier A and Soldier C are due to go on trial for the murder of the Official IRA commander Joe McCann in Belfast in 1972.
Others due for trial include Soldier F, who is accused of murdering two people on 1972’s Bloody Sunday, the day soldiers opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in Derry.
A defence source told the Guardian that Mercer had hoped these trials would not go ahead.
READ MORE: Tory minister says he had ‘no choice’ but to quit Boris Johnson's government
The Tory MP was reportedly angry that protections offered to soldiers abroad by the Overseas Operations Bill would not extend to veterans of the Northern Irish conflict.
Amnesty International says the Overseas Operations Bill, which aims to exempt soldiers from prosecution if an alleged war crime was more than five years ago, “is part of a worrying trend of assaults on human rights laws and protections in the UK”.
The organisation says the bill “places members of the Armed Forces above the ordinary criminal law in a way that is completely unprecedented”.
The Peace Pledge Union (PPU), the UK’s leading pacifist group, said Mercer would not be happy without “a guarantee that no British veteran will ever be investigated or prosecuted for anything”.
In a resignation letter the PPU branded “dangerously misleading”, Mercer suggested that “endless investigations and inquests into events often more than fifty years ago” were to blame for army veterans “being sectioned, drinking themselves to death and dying well before their time”.
I’m sorry to have been relieved of my responsibilities in Government tonight. pic.twitter.com/AWai59fVhE
— Johnny Mercer (@JohnnyMercerUK) April 20, 2021
Following on from his resignation last night, Mercer today attacked Johnson’s government in an interview on Times Radio.
The Plymouth Moor View MP and army veteran said: “This is the most distrustful, awful environment I've ever worked in in government.
"Almost nobody tells the truth is what I've worked out over the last 36 hours.
"I don't think anyone really can get on their high horse about trust and ethics and all the rest of it in politics, because as far as I'm concerned, most of it is a bit of a cesspit."
He said there was a "clear commitment to follow through on our promises and do right by those who serve" adding: "That is what drives me and what I do. Other people have other things they're interested in, and I respect them.
"But we have a duty in this country towards those who serve. Talking about it and looking solemn at Armistice Day is not just good enough anymore.
"We have to deliver for these people. We have a huge challenge looking after the Afghan-Iraq cohort.
READ MORE: Ex-Scots Guards captain replaces Tory minister who quit Boris Johnson's government
“Okay, we have the challenges in Northern Ireland, we have an elderly cohort, as well. And we have to get this right. And I will do everything right to ensure that we can."
Former Scots Guard captain Leo Docherty was announced as Mercer's replacement as veterans minister on Wednesday.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he was “delighted” to welcome Docherty to the department.
He said: "He will be taking up one of the most important roles, championing our veterans and service personnel.
“Leo comes with a wealth of experience both of the armed forces, having served in Afghanistan, and of politics.
“I know that he will do an excellent job.”
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