Tory MP Mercer resigns from party after Fiji lobbying sting

The allegations centre on Parliamentary questions he tabled last month over Fiji which have been linked to a sting operation by the Daily Telegraph and the BBC’s Panorama programme.

Mr Mercer, who was a shadow Minister when the Conservatives were in opposition, said he was resigning the whip to spare the party embarrassment.

“I am taking legal advice about these allegations – and I have referred myself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards,” he said.

A Conservative spokesman said the Prime Minister thought the MP had “done the right thing”.

But Mr Mercer’s decision to continue as an independent until the next election, rather than stand down immediately, looks set to trigger a fresh debate over whether voters should have the power to force a by-election if they lose faith in their MP.

The coalition agreement between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats included a commitment to give voters a “power of recall”. However, the Government has yet to bring forward legislation and there was no mention of it in the Queen’s Speech last month, triggering speculation Ministers have shelved the idea.

Supporters of the measure are now likely to use the Mercer affair to put the issue back at the top of the political agenda.

Writing on Twitter, Conservative backbencher Zac Goldsmith said: “If it’s bad enough for you to resign from your party, how can it be OK to continue representing constituents at all? Where’s that Recall?!”

Parliamentary records show Mr Mercer, the MP for Newark, asked questions last month about Fiji’s suspension from the Commonwealth, and UK investment in its public transport.

In March he put down an Early Day Motion – a parliamentary device used to draw attention to issues – saying there was “no justification for Fiji’s continued suspension from the Commonwealth”.

The questions were apparently put forward after he was approached by a fake company, Alistair Andrews Communications, claiming to be lobbying on behalf of Fiji businesses for the country to be readmitted to the Commonwealth.

While in Opposition, David Cameron described lobbying as “the next big scandal” that would engulf British politicians following the revelations about MPs’ expenses.

TaxPayers’ Alliance chief executive Matthew Sinclair said: “Mr Mercer’s constituents should have the right to hold him to account for his actions if they 
feel he has let them down, but 
they cannot do so because the Government has failed to introduce the recall mechanism it promised in the Coalition Agreement.”

The episode is the latest in a chequered political career for the former Army Colonel who served as shadow homeland security minister until 2007, stepping down after suggesting that racism was “part and parcel” of life in the forces and he had come “across a lot of ethnic minority soldiers who were idle and useless, but who used racism as cover for their misdemeanours”.

He was also the subject of a newspaper sting two years ago when he was said to have called the Prime Minister “despicable” and described him as “the worst politician in British history since William Gladstone”.

However, Mr Mercer later denied making the comments.

Stuart Wallace, chairman of the Newark Conservative Association, said: “Patrick has always been a dedicated, hard-working and popular local MP and we will be saddened if these allegations are proven.

“Until such time as there has been a full and proper investigation, in line with British justice, we shall neither pre-judge nor pre-empt the outcome.”

Before entering Parliament, Mr Mercer spent 25 years as an Army officer with the Sherwood Foresters, following in the footsteps of his father who had served in the same regiment during the Second World War.

He completed nine tours in Northern Ireland as well as serving in Uganda, Bosnia and Canada.

He was commended for gallantry in 1990, made an MBE in 1992, and in 1997 he received an OBE in recognition of his service in Bosnia.

Educated at Oxford University, he left his post as Colonel with the Army in 1999 – at the time the youngest Colonel since the Second World War – and had a brief spell in the media before becoming the Conservative candidate for Newark.

His parliamentary career took off in 2001, when he overturned a Labour majority of 3,000 to secure his Commons seat.

He was returned at the last election with a majority of more than 16,000 votes.