'My children are worried that I'm going to prison'

JOHNNY MERCER SAYS AFGHAN INQUIRY ‘FIXATING ON PRESSURING ME’

- JOSH PAYNE

VETERANS Minister and Plymouth Conservative candidate Johnny Mercer has accused the Afghanistan Inquiry of “ignoring pretty serious evidence” in order to “fixate” on pressuring him to hand over names of those who told him about alleged special forces murders.

Mr Mercer, the candidate for Plymouth Moor View, repeatedly refused to hand over names of “multiple officers” who told him about allegations of murder and a cover-up during his time as a backbench MP.

The inquiry’s chairman, Sir Charles Haddon-Cave, delayed making a determination over whether Mr Mercer had reasonable grounds to withhold the names until after the General Election – a move designed to avoid public-facing activity during a time of heightened political context. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mr Mercer said the inquiry team “don’t seem to know the subject they are dealing with or the people they are dealing with”.