A Tory MP delivered an explosive contribution to the Parliamentary debate on the Lord Mandelson scandal, bellowing an exchange between Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise from the film A Few Good Men.
“I want the truth! You can’t handle the truth!” Dr Luke Evans shouted in the opening moments of his remarks, adding: “And the court case goes quiet.”
Parliament appeared to follow the Hollywood classic’s script, falling quiet as the Hinckley and Bosworth MP explained the relevance of his theatrical introduction.
He said the silence represented “the realisation in that court case: things have moved from process to accountability and responsibility”.
“If you haven’t seen the film, it’s about two Marines who are on trial for killing another. But the real story that unravels is whether command can deny any responsibility for the actions that it’s set in motion.”
“Here lies the parallel. When subordinates act on the understood direction of authority, where does responsibility ultimately sit? They acted because of you, it belongs to you,” Dr Evans said.
The Tory MP was one of many voices joining a chorus of criticism of the Prime Minister’s handling of the Peter Mandelson scandal, following fresh revelations about the vetting process and the bombshell testimony of the now ousted Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins.
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