A trio of MPs received a dressing down from the Defence Secretary after drinking ‘heavily’ en route to an official visit to troops in Gibraltar.
A female Labour politician and two men from the SNP were accused of showing a ‘lack of respect’ for the Armed Forces by Ben Wallace.
The trio were said to be ‘quite clearly drunk’ when they boarded their flight, and continued drinking on the plane.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the Labour MP needed a wheelchair in order to get from baggage claim to military minibus.
Mr Wallace said the trio’s conduct risked ‘undermining respect for Parliament’.
The trio of MPs received a dressing down from Defense Secretary Ben Wallace (pictured) after drinking ‘heavily’ en route to an official visit to troops in Gibraltar
These three MPs were part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, which saw 14 others travel to Gibraltar to visit the military. This flight included members of Parliament and personnel from the Ministry of Defence.
James Gray, a Tory MP and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Armed Forces, told The Times: ‘These three, as I understand it, were in a British Airways lounge in Heathrow and made full use of the facilities.’
He said that by the time they got to the airport the three MPs were ‘pretty well-oiled’.
The two SNP men were reportedly ‘lairy’ and ‘rude’ when their coronavirus passes did not work at the airport gates, and it is claimed that military staff needed to intervene to calm them down.
MoD bosses received reports of the MPs’ conduct from military escorts on board the flight.
James Gray, a Tory MP and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Armed Forces, told The Times: ‘These three, as I understand it, were in a British Airways lounge in Heathrow and made full use of the facilities’
Now, Wallace will complain to both the Labour leaders and to the SNP. The Defence Secretary said: ‘This type of behaviour shows a lack of respect for the enduring work of our Armed Forces.
‘The Armed Forces scheme is an opportunity for both Parliamentarians and the military to understand each other.
This behaviour puts military personnel in a difficult position and risks undermining respect for Parliament.’
After flying to Gibraltar, the MPs were helped onto carpet (pictured).
A source told The Daily Telegraph that the MPs were ‘quite clearly drunk when they were checking in and going through the process of boarding’, then ‘drank heavily on the plane’.
They claimed the Labour MP became ‘incapacitated through drink on the flight across to Gibraltar to the point where she had to be moved to the transport by wheelchair’. She was then taken to a hotel ‘for her own safety’, it was claimed.
The Times reported on Tuesday that the Labour MP returned to the UK 2 days earlier than expected after speaking with party whips.