Johnny Mercer's wife accuses Carol Vorderman of 'inciting hate' against Tories
5 July 2023, 09:17 | Updated: 5 July 2023, 09:57
The wife of Tory veterans minister Johnny Mercer has taken aim at Carol Vorderman, describing her as a "celebrity attack dog that knows nothing about politics".
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Felicity Cornelius-Mercer said the ex-Countdown star drives her "up the f***ing wall" because of her frequent criticism of the Conservatives.
Her and Johnny Mercer, the MP for Plymouth Moor View, are no strangers to putting their views across bluntly and she did not mince words when asked about her anger at Vorderman, whose tweets frequently attack the Tories.
"I don't know what it is, she just drives me up the f***ing wall," Cornelius-Mercer told LBC's Difficult Women podcast, hosted by Rachel Johnson.
"I don't usually get stressed out by people, but for me it is this idea of celebrity attack dogs that know nothing about politics. There's definitely an argument to be had about that.
"But I understand everyone has an opinion on politics. But for me, it's this blanket hatred, it's like inciting people to hate all Tories, or hate all Labour, hate everyone that falls under a certain umbrella.
"But actually, if you dig deeper, there's so many Tory MPs, they're all very different, there's a huge range of different types of personalities, different views, different principles.
"You can't blanket hate and this is what Vorderman seems to be doing. 'All Tories are disgusting', she keeps using words like 'disgusting', 'I'm disgusted'. And I'm finding it really, really hard."
Cornelius-Mercer, whose husband served in the army's 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, which supports the Royal Marines, said: "She's an honorary group captain. She should be stripped of that, because she shouldn't be political, this is rabidly political."
Vorderman's recent tweets have attacked the Tories on their NHS legacy and Sajid Javid, the former health secretary who is proposing a royal commission that would investigate how the health service could be improved with reforms.
She took aim at Mercer on July 4, when she attacked his comments that food bank use is a "personal decision" when he was asked about military personnel using them.
"Johnny Mercer thinks food bank use is 'a personal decision'. He's wrong," she tweeted.
"I grew up in poverty, mum had 5 jobs, nearly killed her. It was NOT a choice. FACT Total cost to taxpayer of Mercer is £373,663. Wife works in his office. Their total taxpayers' salary is approx £120,000."
Mercer replied to her criticism, calling her "grim" and a "deeply unpleasant person".
Previously, Cornelius-Mercer made headlines for calling Liz Truss an "imbecile" when she sacked her husband during her ill-fated and extremely brief period in Downing Street.
