(JTA) — A British member of parliament under fire in a corruption scandal was caught on camera describing an Israeli soldier as a “bloody Jew.”
Patrick Mercer made the remark to a BBC reporter posing as a lobbyist in the investigation. The footage was broadcast Thursday.
Mercer told of entering an “intelligence establishment” during a recent Israel visit and facing a security guard.
“An 18-year-old girl, wearing a uniform, with her sort of hair in plaits, and crazy jewelry and open-toed sandals, with a rifle up my nose,” he said.
“Who the fuck are you, you know? ‘Well I’m a soldier.’ Are you? You don’t look like a soldier to me. You look like a bloody Jew,” Mercer said.
The investigation, by the BBC and the Daily Telegraph, uncovered evidence that Mercer accepted payment from business interests to pose questions and advance motions in parliament.
Mercer has resigned from the Conservative Party and has said he will not stand for his seat, representing Newark in England’s north.
Parliament is investigating the claims.
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