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Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards by Patrick Mercer OBE MP

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Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards by Patrick Mercer OBE MP Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards By Patrick Mercer OBE MP Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards By Patrick Mercer OBE MP th 10 July 2013 1 Issue 1 Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards By Patrick Mercer OBE MP Contents 1 Introduction 2 Note on responses to Parliamentary Commissioner’s questions 3 Background to Australasia, Fiji and outside interests 4 Fiji 5 Personal issues [redacted] 6 ‘Alistair Andrews Communications’, ‘Daniel Mann’ and the timeline of events 7 BBC Panorama [redacted] 8 Summary APPENDIX 1 – Biography of Mr Patrick Mercer OBE MP [redacted] APPENDIX 2 – List of issues from Parliamentary Commissioner [redacted] APPENDIX 3 – Statement by Mr Paul Marsden APPENDIX 4 – CMAG Statement on Fiji dated 28 September 2012 APPENDIX 5 – Paul Marsden Briefing dated 17 February 2013 [redacted] APPENDIX 6 – Statement by Mrs Cait Mercer [redacted] APPENDIX 7 – Statement by Mr Mercer’s Parliamentary Assistant [redacted] APPENDIX 8 – Paul Marsden Briefing dated 7 March 2013 2 Issue 1 Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards By Patrick Mercer OBE MP APPENDIX 9 – Patrick Mercer memo to AAC dated 16 March 2013 APPENDIX 10 – Paul Marsden’s briefing on the inquiry report sent to AAC dated 15 April 2013 APPENDIX 11 – Correspondence between Snapper TV, Telegraph and Harbottle & Lewis solicitors. APPENDIX 12 – Transcript and commentary on BBC Panorama/Snapper TV broadcast on 6 June 2013 [redacted] 3 Issue 1 Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards By Patrick Mercer OBE MP 1 Introduction This submission follows my public self-referral to you and provides my evidence to the inquiry over allegations made by BBC Panorama, the Daily Telegraph and their associates including Snapper TV who were commissioned to make the programme. I declare that to the best of my knowledge and belief, the information herein is true, correct and complete. I have attached a brief biography of me to give you an outline of my career, background and my interests (Appendix 1). If you have any queries or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I wish to make clear that I will fully co-operate with your inquiry and provide all the information you need to come to a conclusion. As you can imagine I have a full diary as a Member of Parliament and a high level of commitments and responsibilities to my family and constituents but I will endeavour to prioritise any requests to assist your inquiry. It is also very important to make clear from the outset that I have acted in good faith to my conscience as a Member of Parliament and in the best interests of my constituents and specifically given the allegations, the people of Fiji. As someone who has taken an interest in the welfare of Fijians dating back to 2000, I have a long track record of supporting a better quality of life for their soldiers who have a distinguished record in the British Army. At no stage, have I undertaken “paid advocacy” nor carried out the whims and demands of a client. I have acted in accordance with the seven principles of conduct for Members of Parliament. It is crucial to point out that the BBC Panorama programme that lasted 60 minutes only specifically covered me for around 40 minutes. The remaining 20 minutes referred to other individuals and other matters. Within the time frame of 40 minutes, footage showing me that was broadcast amounted to just 14 minutes 42 seconds. However, I held meetings and telephone conversations 4 Issue 1 Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards By Patrick Mercer OBE MP with representatives purporting to be from ‘Alistair Andrews Communications’ (AAC), which lasted for over five hours. I note that BBC Panorama has refused to hand over copies to my solicitor of the four hours forty five minutes of video and audio tapes that was not broadcast, which would shed new and revealing light on the context and the specifics of what I discussed with AAC. I am very disappointed that the programme is withholding important evidence and has chosen to use selected highlights to broadcast that were fundamentally biased and unfair and do not square with the facts. I ask that I be judged on the facts of the case and not on the journalist’s approach to choosing a story line and then looking for quotes and information to support that story. I also must point out that at no stage did I know the identity of the end client because the journalist, Daniel Foggo purporting to be ‘Daniel Mann’, would not tell me. I repeatedly asked who were the individuals within the ‘Society of Friends of Fiji’ and any hints that there were connections with the Government of Fiji were opaque. I asked Mr Foggo to tell me the names of his client(s) and he obfuscated and misled me. There were vague references to business interests but nothing more. The programme does not show me being exasperated that he would not tell me and I believed that he represented clients with various interests including business, defence and security interests. The programme and subsequent coverage in the Telegraph suggests a simple case of a false consultancy being set up ostensibly working for the military junta in Fiji to approach a Member of Parliament to do their bidding. The programme then suggests that I will take money to do whatever the military junta dictates to assist them to return to the Commonwealth presumably for the advantage of individuals in the government. The programme presents it as an ‘open and shut’ case of corruption as part of the wider demands for action on the Prime Minister about lobbyists. The truth has no connection with this narrative. I ask that you will carefully judge the evidence and I am very confident that it will demonstrate that I acted in good faith and in accordance with the rules of the House. 5 Issue 1 Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards By Patrick Mercer OBE MP 2 Note on responses to Parliamentary Commissioner’s questions I want to ensure that I have accurately distilled the information you are seeking in order fully to deal with the allegations. If I have missed something, it is only through my misunderstanding and I would ask that you clarify what information you need and I will immediately supply it to you. Appendix 2 provides my understanding of your questions and requests and provides cross references to allow an easy reading of my response with your letter. 3 Background to Australasia, Fiji and outside interests I only undertake outside interests where they are ethical and in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament. One such area of interest is pursuing my passion for writing including novels, military history and newspaper articles and I transparently and in accordance with the rules, declare all such payments in the Register for Members Financial Interests. In addition, I take on an outside interest if it a) assists my constituents, b) assists me in pursuing campaigns and issues regarding defence and security matters given my previous career as a colonel in the British Army and c) where there are legitimate issues in the business community, charities, and overseas countries where I can further human rights, jobs and quality of life issues. As the Secretary to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Human Rights I have taken an active interest and lent support to many human rights campaigns. I have held a long standing interest in Australasia since I was sent to East Timor in 2000 to assist with the writing of that nation’s defence policy. In addition, in July 2000 after I left the army, I wrote a series of articles as a journalist, inside the country. I was also very interested in Fiji and Fijian soldiers since I designed their recruitment and training when I served in the Army and Recruiting Training Agency. 6 Issue 1 Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards By Patrick Mercer OBE MP As such, it should be no surprise that I have tabled parliamentary questions and spoken out publicly about Australasia and Fiji in particular, as a Member of Parliament. It is important to note that Fiji is not a large country and it is highly unlikely that a Member of Parliament would show a public interest in the country, unless they had a genuine concern about the country. On 21 November 2002, I asked the following question in the House of Commons (Hansard Column 217W) Fijian Soldiers Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to make it easier for Fijian soldiers serving in British regiments to travel freely while on leave. [80698] Mr. Ingram: Fijian personnel serving in the British Army may travel on leave within the United Kingdom without restriction. Those who wish to travel abroad during their leave periods, other than to their country of origin, are subject to the same visa and entry requirements as other Fijian nationals travelling abroad. Visa and entry requirements are constantly changing and may only be guaranteed by the embassy, consulate or high commission of the country an individual wishes to enter. There are no specific plans, at present, to make any changes in this regard. [Source: Hansard 21 November 2002] On 21 November 2004, I spoke out against plans by the Ministry of Defence to demand that Fijian soldiers be allowed to take up British citizenship. Mr Mercer, the Tory shadow minister for homeland security, said: "The security aspects are nonsensical. Why would any al-Qaeda 'sleeper' who has bothered to get himself into the Armed Forces blanch at this extra piece of bureaucracy?" 7 Issue 1 Submission to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards By Patrick Mercer OBE MP [Source: Telegraph, 21 November 2004] On 30 January 2009, I campaigned for the reinstatement of recruiting soldiers from the Commonwealth and specifically Fiji, when the Ministry of Defence was suggesting a reduction:- Mr Mercer said, “The manning crisis in the Army is terribly serious.
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