Mercer insists military should not need food aid

A CITY MP has said it is “not correct” that people are forced to use food banks, as he suggested relying on free handouts is a personal choice.

Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer, Minister of State for Veterans’ Affairs, appeared to suggest that some members of the armed forces are using food banks because of personal budgeting decisions, as he defended military pay levels.

“These are personal decisions around how people are budgeting every month,” the former British Army captain told Sky News.

“I don’t want to see anyone using food banks, of course I don’t, but we’re in an extremely difficult time around cost of living.

“I’ll always advocate for service personnel to get paid more, I’d be mad not to, but it has to be within the constraints of a budget.”

Put to him by Sky News that people do not choose to rely on food banks for their provisions, Mr Mercer replied: “Well, in my experience that is not correct.

“I think there are some dire cases that we need to do more to wrap our arms around and make sure that there is a safety net for people.