An online vigilante group has posted evidence that a Liberal Democrat councillor claimed he served as a soldier in Northern Ireland and the Falklands.
Peter Jackson (65), who served as the mayor of Otley, West Yorkshire, and is currently a town councillor. He wore a Queen’s Gallantry Medal, and was dressed as an Honorary Colonel Lieutenant Colonel as he marched in a Remembrance Day Parade 2021.
Jackson stated on his LinkedIn that he was an ex-military police soldier with the Special Investigation Branch of Royal Military Police and an Honorary Lieutenant Colonel. He also claimed to have graduated Sandhurst from Sandhurst having a Bachelor of law degree.
However, online vigilante group The Walter Mitty Hunters Club, which exposes military imposters, posted a 1,700-word blogpost on January 20 going through discrepancies in Jackson’s claims, triggering Otley Town Council to launch an investigation into the allegations.
Investigators discovered that Jackson had claimed to be awarded a MID in Falkland, but his name wasn’t even on the list.
Peter Jackson (65) is seen wearing a Queen’s gallantry medal and being dressed as Honorary Lieutenant Colonel during a Remembrance Day Parade, 2021.
Following the allegations, Otley’s former mayor, now 65, has decided to resign as a councillor. He claimed that his reputation was ‘irreversibly damaged’.
Jackson claimed to have been awarded a MID in Falkland, but investigators couldn’t find Jackson on a list that included those who served in conflict with Argentina.
Photos also show that his medals were incorrectly placed. Investigators laughed at the joke that his uniform looked like potatoes in a bag and had “never seen an iron”.
The Royal Military Police Association stated to The Sun that they couldn’t support Jackson’s claims.
Jackson is now on vacation in Jamaica after he quit his position as a Lib Dem Councillor.
According to him, The Sun was unable to determine if the damage done already is irreversible.
Jackson states that he became the Mayor of Otley and took up the Honorary Lieutenant Colonel post in 2019.