RAF top brass ‘considered stripping Carol Vorderman of honorary title because of her anti-government tweeting’
RAF top brass considered ‘stripping’ Carol Vorderman of her honorary title because of her anti-government tweeting, it has been revealed.
Voderman, 62, not only a famed Countdown star, is also a proud Air Cadet Ambassador and Hononary Group Captain, as is noted in her X, formerly Twitter, bio.
But after launching a tirade against top Tory MPs, senior officials debated ‘hanging her out to dry’, The Sun reported.
Vorderman has taken to X to hit out at Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer and his outspoken wife Felicity, labelling them the ‘most petulant, childish pair of the week’.
Vorderman also branded the Tories ‘a lying bunch of greedy, corrupt, destructive, hateful, divisive gaslighting crooks’.
Mrs Cornelius-Mercer hit back at what she called, ‘persistent and relentless anti-Tory bullying’.
RAF top brass considered ‘stripping’ Carol Vorderman of her honorary title because of her anti-government tweeting, it has been revealed
Vorderman took to X to hit out at Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer and his outspoken wife Felicity, as well as PM Rishi Sunak
The mum-of-three challenged the Chief of the Air Staff, Chief Air Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, over whether Vorderman’s Tweets were ‘fitting conduct for an RAF honorary Group Captain’.
The row sparked panic as Top Brass were warned that intervening in public would be a ‘disaster’ for the RAF.
One reportedly wrote: ‘I feel that making a form comment or commitment either way would be a disaster as it’s a bit of a no-win story.
‘Hanging her out to dry wouldn’t look good, but by the same token we can’t support what she is saying as we need to remain politically neutral.’
The Chief of the Air Staff raised the row with Ms Vorderman’s RAF boss, Air Cadet Commandant Tony Keeling.
Air Commodore Keeling signalled his hope that Ms Vorderman’s tenure would soon expire.
Internal emails seen by The Sun show aides were unclear who and how Ms Vorderman had been appointed and what rules she came under.
One wrote: ‘There is no audit trail that I’m aware of.’
They added: ‘Subjecting her to the bounds and restraints of ACP20 [code of conduct] may be problematic.’
READ MORE: Johnny Mercer’s wife vs Carol Vorderman (AGAIN): Countdown star claims she has been ‘harassed by the Defence Minister’s spouse for months’ as pair are embroiled in yet another Twitter rant
The emails show that Ms Vorderman remains an ambassador.
Top Brass denied she was facing any disciplinary process.
And they added added: ‘Political views of any of our personnel, whether volunteer or regular, are a private life matter and not a matter for the service.’
The RAF declined to comment.
Indeed, the feud between Vorderman and Mercer goes way back, with the former Countdown presenter, 62, at war with Felicity Cornelius-Mercer, 43, and the veterans’ minister, 41, earlier this year.
In July, she took things up a notch this afternoon by sharing a reel showing a series of tweets she had sent her.
She wrote: ‘I’ve been harassed by Johnny Mercer’s wife for months. This is from just one day in April + much more abuse elsewhere. I didn’t respond at all. Until he mocked military using foodbanks. She’s paid c£45k on MP expenses (+200% pay rise) to do this?’
In response, Mrs Cornelius-Mercer said she had been tagging Ms Vorderman in abusive tweets sent to her husband to show how she had stirred up ‘awful traffic’ by ‘telling followers to target MPs’.
She added: ‘Feel free to stop the reel and read them. These hateful comments are sent to us as a direct result of @carolvorders drivel. I’ve only ever reacted to her rubbish about hating all Tories, which has been going on long before I got involved.’
Speaking to LBC, Ms Vorderman said Mrs Cornelius-Mercer sent her ’60 tweets’ over one day.
‘Jonny Mercer’s wife has been harassing me for months on Twitter, on one day she sent over 60 tweets, the words she used about my private life were really misogynistic actually,’ she said.
‘To the point where I almost felt like reporting her to be honest, I found it quite upsetting.’
She added: ‘It’s like an unhealthy obsession that they have.’
The bizarre feud began when Mrs Cornelius-Mercer accused Ms Vorderman of being a ‘celebrity attack dog’ who was ‘inciting people to hate all Tories’.
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