A decision on whether Veterans’ Minister Johnny Mercer must divulge the identities of individuals who reported allegations of murders by special forces in Afghanistan has been deferred until after the General Election. Mercer has repeatedly declined to provide names during the Afghanistan Inquiry, which he discussed as a backbench MP, describing the act of withholding names as a matter of maintaining integrity. Inquiry chairman Sir Charles Haddon-Cave issued Mercer a Section 21 notice on March 13, compelling compliance.
Mercer’s application on April 3 argued he was either unable to comply or found it unreasonable to do so. Sir Charles elected to delay the decision, as well as postponing the testimony of former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, citing the pre-election period as the reason. The final determination on the matter is slated to be made and published after July 4, 2024.