Patrick Mercer

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Patrick John Mercer OBE (born 26 June 1956) is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom, representing the constituency of Newark in Parliament. A former infantry officer in the British Army and journalist for the BBC, Mercer has recently published his first novel, To Do And Die, based on the real-life story of Anthony Morgan, who fought in the Crimean War.

Born in Stockport in Cheshire in 1956, Patrick Mercer is the son of Eric Arthur John 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. Patrick was educated at The King's School, Chester and went on to read History at Exeter College, Oxford. He was later commissioned after service at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

British Army officer

Patrick followed his father, who saw wartime service in the Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment), into the British Army, being commissioned into the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment in 1975. 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 as an instructor at both the Staff College Camberley and at the Army’s University at Cranfield.

Mercer was Mentioned in Despatches in 1983 whilst serving in Northern Ireland and earned a gallantry commendation in 1990 and the MBE in 1992. In 1997 he received the OBE for services in Bosnia. He left the Army in 1999 as a Colonel, having been head of communications and strategy at the Army Training & Recruiting Agency.

Journalist

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 now contributes frequently to radio, TV and print media, principally covering security and defence issues.

Parliamentary career

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.

It wasn't long before he was appointed to a newly created post of Shadow Minister for Homeland Security, a position which he was given in June 2003 by the then Leader of the Conservative Party, Iain Duncan Smith. He held this position until March 2007 when he was forced to resign over racist comments.

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.

In December 2008 Patrick 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.

Literary career

In May 2009, Harper Collins published Patrick Mercer’s first novel, a historical fiction entitled 'To Do and Die' which is a military novel set during the Crimean War. Patrick describes his first fiction as being "a bit like the Sharpe novels, except it’s true – and the action and sex scenes are far better." Harper Collins will shortly be publishing books two and three in the series:

A respected historian, Patrick has also published two non-fiction accounts of the Battle of Inkerman during the Crimean War.

Publications

• Mercer, Patrick (2009). To Do And Die. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0007302789. 
• Mercer, Patrick (1998). Inkerman, 1845: The Soldier's Battle. Osprey. ISBN 978-1855326187. 
• Mercer, Patrick (1998). Give Them A Volley And Charge!: Battle of Inkerman. Spellmount Publishers Ltd. ISBN 978-1862270251. 

References

External links

• Patrick Mercer official site
• ePolitix.com - Patrick Mercer MP
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Patrick Mercer MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Patrick Mercer MP
• The Public Whip - Patrick Mercer MP voting record
• BBC News - Patrick Mercer profile 10 February, 2005