| Patrick Mercer OBE MP | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Newark |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 7 June 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | Fiona Jones |
| Majority | 16,152 (31.5%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 June 1956 Stockport, Cheshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Cait Mercer |
| Alma mater | The King's School (Chester) Exeter College, University of Oxford Cranfield University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1975–1999 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment |
Patrick John Mercer OBE (born 26 June 1956) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom, representing the constituency of Newark in Parliament. He is a frequent commentator on defence and security issues having served as infantry officer in the British Army and held the position of Shadow Minister for Homeland Security. He is a former journalist for the BBC and he has written four, well received military novels that have been critically acclaimed.
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Born in Stockport in Cheshire in 1956, Mercer is the son of Eric Mercer, who became Bishop of Exeter. His mother was born in Lincolnshire and his father was trained for the priesthood at Kelham Theological College near Newark.[1]
Mercer was educated at The King's School, Chester,[2] and Exeter College, Oxford, where he read History. He was later commissioned after training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[3] Whilst there he was one of a number of cadets interviewed for an edition of the BBC's Panorama programme.[4]
Mercer followed his father, who saw wartime service in the Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment), into the British Army. He was commissioned into the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment on 8 March 1975 as a Second Lieutenant.[5] He was promoted to Captain on 8 September 1981,[6] and to Major on 30 September 1988.[7] On 30 June 1994, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel.[8] then to Colonel on 30 June 1998.[9] He retired from the military on 1 September 1999.[10]
During his time in the Army, Mercer completed nine tours in Northern Ireland and latterly commanded his battalion in Bosnia, Canada and Tidworth. Mercer served at both the Staff College, Camberley and the Army's University at Cranfield.
Mercer drove Robert Nairac, a liaison officer with 22 SAS who worked undercover to a bar in Crossmaglen on 13 May 1977, the night before Nairac was assassinated by the IRA.[11]
Mercer was Mentioned in Despatches in 1983 for "gallant and distinguished service in Northern Ireland during the period 1st November 1982 to 31st January 1983".[12] He earned a gallantry commendation in 1990. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire on 12 October 1993 "in recognition of distinguished service in Northern Ireland".[13] He was made an Officer of the same Order on 13 May 1997 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the former Yugoslavia during the period 21st June to 20th December 1996".[14] He left the Army in 1999 as a Colonel, having been head of communications and strategy at the Army Training & Recruiting Agency.
Having left the Army, Mercer accepted a post as the defence reporter for BBC Radio 4's Today Programme. Mercer reported from a number of trouble spots, most notably Kosovo.
Upon being selected as the Conservative candidate in Newark, Mercer left the BBC and became a freelance journalist writing for the Daily Telegraph. He contributes frequently to radio, TV and print media, principally covering security and defence issues.
Mercer was first elected to Parliament at the 2001 general election, defeating the Labour incumbent, Fiona Jones, overturning a majority of 3,000 and creating a majority of just over 4,000. Upon entering Parliament he initially served as a back-bencher on the Defence Select Committee before becoming Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Secretary of State for Defence. Mercer backed Iain Duncan Smith over Kenneth Clarke in the 2001 Conservative leadership election.
He was appointed to a newly created post of Shadow Minister for Homeland Security in June 2003 by the then Leader of the Conservative Party, Iain Duncan Smith.
In 2004 he introduced a Private Member's Bill in response to the publicity surrounding the case of Tony Martin that proposed to give householders greater powers when protecting their property from burglary.[15]
Mercer increased his majority in Newark to 6,464 at the 2005 general election.[16] During the subsequent Conservative leadership contest, he publicly backed David Davis over David Cameron, Kenneth Clarke and Liam Fox.[17]
Since 2005, he has repeatedly warned against the imposition of control orders as being 'counter productive'. Citing his experience of internment in Northern Ireland, as a serving soldier, he highlighted the danger of alienating populations needed for intelligence gathering.[18]
Mercer was forced to resign as Shadow Minister for Homeland Security in March 2007 by David Cameron over perceived racist comments [19] although initially the Conservative Party stated the comments were a 'private matter'.[20] Mercer apologised and said, 'I had the privilege to command soldiers from across the east Midlands of whom many came from racial minorities. It was a matter of great pride to me that racial minorities prospered inside the unit. What I have said is clearly misjudged and I can only apologise if I have embarrassed in anyway those fine men whom I commanded. I have no hesitation in resigning my front-bench appointment.' A number of black former soldiers publicly spoke out in defence of Mercer, with former Sergeant Owen Lewis stating, "I worked with Patrick to eradicate racism from the battalion, and we worked hard to attract ethnic minorities in our recruitment drive. He is the finest Colonel I ever served under." Another black former soldier accused David Cameron of overreacting.[21]
In December 2008 he was appointed as Chairman of the House of Commons Sub-Committee on Counter-Terrorism, to further his work as a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee.
Mercer took the unusual step of spending time with the charity, Save the Family, in March 2009, learning and helping displaced families as part of a programme devised by Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith.[22]
At the 2010 general election, Mercer more than doubled his majority to 16,152 to make Newark one of the safest Conservative seats in the country. In August 2010, Mercer warned that dissident Irish terror groups may be planning to attack the party conferences including the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham based on intelligence from serving army officers.[23]
In May 2011, he was appointed with Lord Ashcroft to review the future of the military bases in Cyprus.[24]
In August 2011, Mercer with his knowledge of Northern Ireland, led the calls for considering the use of water cannon and other robust police tactics to deal with the rioters during the 2011 England riots.[25] The next day David Cameron approved the use of water cannon after chairing a session of the Cabinet Office Briefing Room, Cobra.[26]
In November 2011, the press reported that Mercer had been taped making disparaging remarks about David Cameron, calling him "despicable" and describing him as an "arse" and "the worst politician in British history since William Gladstone". The same articles claimed he had predicted that Cameron would be ousted by Conservative MPs in early 2012. Mercer later denied making the comments.[27][28]
Mercer has published a number of non-fiction accounts of the Battle of Inkerman during the Crimean War. In May 2009, Harper Collins published Mercer's first novel, To Do and Die, a historical fiction story set during the Crimean War. Mercer has described his first foray into fiction as being "a bit like the Sharpe novels, except it's true – and the action and sex scenes are far better".[29] The Daily Mail book review said, "A finely-drawn depiction of battle and the camaraderie of war".[30]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Fiona Jones |
Member of Parliament for Newark 2001–present |
Incumbent |