Rishi Sunak is under pressure to discipline his Veterans' Minister after a shameless and misleading attack on his Labour rival's military career.
In an astonishing social media message Johnny Mercer claimed Fred Thomas - who is aiming to unseat him at the general election - had "served five minutes in uniform". In fact Mr Thomas was in the Royal Marines for seven years becoming a Captain.
Mr Mercer also accused Mr Thomas, who is standing in Plymouth Moor View, and TV star Carol Vorderman of leading "s*** lonely lives". Mr Thomas responded: "Only under this weak Prime Minister could the Cabinet Minister responsible for veterans feel free to attack another vet’s service, without reprimand.
"Instead of criticising us, he should be encouraged to do his job - instead of letting veterans homelessness rise 14% in the last year." Labour's Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, said: "Johnny Mercer is rightly proud of his time in the military but to dismiss the service of others shows just how far the Tories have fallen."
The top Tory's astonishing rant came after Mr Thomas shared figures revealing a rise in homelessness among armed forces veterans. The Labour candidate said he was "furious" and asked if Mr Mercer would apologise for his "abject failure". His message was then shared by Ms Vorderman.
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Minister for Veterans' Affairs Johnny Mercer has been criticised over his attack (PA Wire/PA Images)Mr Mercer sparked a backlash when he responded accused them of "deliberately misleading" the public "because that makes your s*** lonely life feel better". In a further angry message to his Labour rival he went on: "It just shows - again - that having served five minutes in uniform, does not always mean that integrity the rest of us live by. Plymouth Labour seems a good home."
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "If you're in any doubt about the desperate, nasty campaign the Tories are planning to run, witness the appalling spectacle of the Veterans' Minister insulting his opponent's military service - all because Fred Thomas highlighted veterans' homelessness figures."
The Mirror has contacted Tory HQ for a comment. Mr Mercer went on to rant at Ms Vorderman, who he has clashed with before: "No one normal really cares about your view. They think you're mad. I'm changing veterans lives. What I came into politics to do."
The remarks came after Labour analysis of the latest quarterly homelessness statistics found there are around 500 veterans’ households being made newly homeless every three months – up to 180 households a month.
Labour’s Shadow Veterans Minister, Steve McCabe MP, said veterans are being "let down" by the Government. Mr Mercer had previously pledged to end homelessness among veterans by the end 2023.
But responding to criticism, he said he had only been referring to veterans "sleeping rough". Referring to a clip of him making the 'end homelessness' pledge, he said: "Even in this clip I am making it clear that I am talking about veterans sleeping rough. What most people define as street homeless."
He went on: There is a stark difference between being 'homeless' - not having your own home, and sleeping outside every night because of a lack of other options." And in a further tweet, he said: "But there is a big difference between not having your own home, and sleeping out in the cold every night. I’m in it for those who need me who are desperate, who have nowhere else to turn. Not those who jump up and down, make a lot of noise, but don’t end up changing a single life because they’re only in it for themselves."
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