Yesterday, a Magistrate; Today, a Tory Shadow

Iain Dale and other Tories are generally agreeing that David Cameron was right to get rid of cow wary Patrick Mercer who came out with strange anecdotal generalisations about BME soldiers. But plenty of excuses and quibbles in Tory-mooland and Tory-blogland.

Mr Mercer generalized from the particular in a dangerously agile, and yes racist way. From one soldier allegedly playing hooky to see his girlfriend and using an excuse of racism. Someone else might have used an excuse of a grannie's illness.

But Mercer's anecdotes generalised in effect to the idea that black soldiers are lying lazy skivers, and more so than say scousers, gingas, Irish or god preserve us the triple whammy of an Irish scouse ginga.

Mercer also unwisely uses "lots" and lots of other vagueness also. He was right to resign. DC was right to require him to do so. That all this coincides with scandalous accusations about black Commonwealth soldiers and that it was effectively volunteered to The Times means Mercer was and is a liability. The fact he's shown the door quickly does not mean he is not the tip of an iceberg of a party for which Cameron himself was masterminding a dog whistle race campaign - not two years ago.

Green wellies and Grecian 2000: the tools of the Modern Tory Colonel