Afghan war veteran who blew the whistle on mission’s failings selected to fight ultra-safe Tory seat
Former Scots Guards officer Leo Docherty, 40, exposed major errors with the campaign when he left the Army
AN Afghan war vet who was the first to blow the whistle on the mission’s failings has been selected to fight an ultra-safe Tory seat.
Former Scots Guards officer Leo Docherty, 40, exposed major errors with the campaign when he left the Army 10 years ago.
He was picked by local party activists to stand in Aldershot, a constituency with a 15,000 majority in 2015 – making his election all but certain.
The free thinking former councillor, who also fought in , saw off a No10 special adviser during his selection fight, who was the runaway favourite for the seat.
Theresa May’s business adviser Chris Brannigan is also a military vet, and was in command during the biggest tank battle of the Iraq war.
Mr Docherty vowed to keep on speaking out to help the forces and their veterans.
He told The Sun: “I’ve always been a big believer in talking truth to power.
“I’m delighted to have been selected to represent the home of the British Army, and get such a warm welcome from the association.
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“As a vet of Afghanistan, I will be a tenacious champion of the armed forces community as well as a strong defence for the country.”
The Guards officer resigned from the Army and published the first witheringly critical book about the troubled fight in Helmand province - Desert of Death - in 2007.
As a Captain, he served as aide-de-camp to the commander of British forces in Helmand when they arrived.
Mr Docherty branded the operation against the Taliban “grotesquely clumsy’’ and a “textbook case of how to screw up a counter-insurgency’’.
He also wrote: “The ground has been lost and all we are doing is surviving. It’s completely barking mad’.’