UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace has accused three lawmakers from the Labour party and the Scottish National Party (SNP) of "disrespecting" the armed forces for getting inebriated during a trip to visit soldiers in Gibraltar, media reported
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2021) UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace has accused three lawmakers from the Labour party and the Scottish National Party (SNP) of "disrespecting" the armed forces for getting inebriated during a trip to visit soldiers in Gibraltar, media reported.
The three were part of a 15-member parliamentary delegation that was on a three-day trip to visit the armed forces over Armistice Day celebrated on November 11, The Guardian reported on Thursday. It was a routine visit to give politicians an insight into the work of the armed forces.
The lawmakers Drew Hendry and David Linden from the SNP and Charlotte Nichols from the Labour party reportedly had been drinking in an airport departure lounge and then continued to drink while in the air, a witness told the newspaper.
The Times reported, citing a report circulated in the Ministry of Defence, that the female lawmaker had been "incapacitated through drink" to the point where she had to be helped through the airport in a wheelchair, adding that she was eventually unable to attend a "welcome event" organized by the military for the delegation. She cut short her visit to return to the UK earlier.
Wallace is now to write to both parties to express his "disappointment" about the lawmakers' behavior that "put military personnel in a difficult position and risks undermining respect for parliament." He pointed out that the lawmakers also showed "a lack of respect for the enduring work of our armed forces."
