Leo Docherty: Difference between revisions

'''Leo Docherty''' (born 4 October 1976) is a British politician serving as [[Minister of State for the Armed Forces]] since 26 March 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministerial Appointments: 26 March 2024 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-26-march-2024 |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> A member of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], hepolitician who has been the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Aldershot (UK Parliament constituency)|Aldershot]] since [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017]]. He has served as [[Minister of State for the Armed Forces]] since 26 March 2024.<ref>{{citeCite web |title=Ministerial Appointments: 26 March 2024 |url=https://www.aldershotconservativesgov.comuk/government/news/leoministerial-dochertyappointments-selected26-parliamentarymarch-candidate-aldershot2024 |titleaccess-date=Leo Docherty selected as Parliamentary Candidate for Aldershot2024-03-26 |workwebsite=AldershotconservativesGOV.comUK |datelanguage=29 April 2017 |access-date=8 June 2017en}}</ref> Prior to being elected as an MP he served in the [[Scots Guards]], before working in publishing and for the Conservative Party. He is the author of ''Desert of Death'' (2007).

Docherty served as [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Europe]]{{efn|name=Europe}} from September 2022 to March 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministerial Appointments: September 2022 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-september-2022 |access-date=2022-09-08 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministerial Appointments commencing: 25 October 2022 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-25-october-2022 |access-date=2022-10-28 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Europe) - GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state-europe |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=www.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref> He served as [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families|Minister for Defence People]] from July 2022 to September 2022.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-for-defence-people | title=Minister for Defence People - GOV.UK }}</ref>

Leo Docherty was born on 4 October 1976 in [[Glasgow]] and grew up in [[Gloucestershire]]. He studied Swahili and Hindi at [[SOAS University of London|SOAS, University of London]] between 1996 and 2000, before attending the [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]] the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.faber.co.uk/tutors/leo-docherty/|title=About Leo|publisher=Faber |access-date=3 October 2018}}</ref> From 2001 to 2007 he served in the [[Scots Guards]].<ref name="aldershotconservatives">{{cite web|url=https://www.aldershotconservatives.com/people/leo-docherty-mp|title=Leo Docherty MP|website=Aldershot Conservatives|access-date=31 July 2017|archive-date=16 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516020253/https://www.aldershotconservatives.com/people/leo-docherty-mp|url-status=dead}}</ref> After being posted to London on ceremonial duties and a period spent in Germany, he served operationally in [[Iraq War|Iraq]] and [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan]] as a [[British Army]] [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]].

After leaving the army, he wrote about his first-hand account of the war in Afghanistan in his book ''Desert of Death'', which was published by Faber in 2007. Living in [[Didcot in Oxfordshire]], he created and worked as editor and publisher of ''Steppe'' magazine - a now defunct publication that covered the arts, culture, history, landscape and people of Central Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://democratic.southoxon.gov.uk/mgDeclarationSubmissionPrintView.aspx?nobdr=1&UID=141&HID=42&FID=0&HPID=0|title=Register of interests|publisher=South Oxfordshire Council|access-date=3 October 2018}}</ref> He was appointed Director of the [[Conservative Middle East Council]] in 2010, a role in which he served until being elected as an MP.

Docherty unsuccessfully applied to be the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] candidate for the Labour Party held [[Oxford East (UK Parliament constituency)|Oxford East]] constituency in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=Former Bicester mayor chosen as Conservative candidate for Oxford East|url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11650520.Tories_select_candidate_to_fight_Oxford_East_constituency_in_general_election/|access-date=3 October 2018|work=Oxford Mail|date=6 December 2014}}</ref> He was instead chosen to contest the safe Labour Party held seat of [[Caerphilly (UK Parliament constituency)|Caerphilly]] in the 2015 general election, where he came third.

In September 2019, Leo's brother Paddy Docherty wrote an open letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' urging him to resign, writing: "Now I am simply appalled that this government, of which you are sadly a part, has become the principal threat to the lives and liberties of the people. Please do the decent thing, and resign.".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Docherty |first1=Paddy |title=An open letter to my brother the Tory MP: resign from this rogue government |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/03/open-letter-brother-resign-government-no-deal-brexit |newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 September 2019}}</ref>

In the six months after being elected as an MP, Docherty registered four trips to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, costing over £15,000 and paid for by the Governments of the host countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/25628/leo_docherty/aldershot|title=Leo Docherty|work=theyworkforyou.com|access-date=3 October 2018}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2021}} Prior to this, his election campaign had benefited from donations totalling over £10,000 from donors with links to the Gulf States. As Chair of the [[Conservative Middle East Council]] and since serving as an MP, Docherty has frequently praised the work of the governments in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and has been subject to some criticism from opposition MPs and journalists, such as [[Peter Oborne]] for his links and his failure to always declare his register of interests when speaking on the subject in Parliament. However, Docherty has denied any conflict of interest and, as Director of the Conservative Middle East Council, responded to criticism of donations received there as not having influenced decision-making within the group.<ref>{{cite news|title=Britain invokes spy clause to cover up payments to Bahrain |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britain-invokes-spy-clause-to-cover-up-payments-to-bahrain-dlv00c66f|access-date=3 October 2018|work=The Times|date=22 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Why is the Conservative Party ignoring Palestine?|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/why-uk-conservative-party-ignoring-palestine-cmec-focus-on-gulf-bahrain-uae-saudi-libya-israel-1824625298|access-date=3 October 2018|work=Middle East Eye|date=6 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Gulf business tycoons backing the Conservative Middle East Council|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20160127-revealed-the-gulf-business-tycoons-backing-the-conservative-middle-east-council/|access-date=3 October 2018|work=Middle East Monitor|date=27 January 2016}}</ref> Docherty's trips were worth £26,893 in total and were the highest valued of any MP's trips during the year following the 2017 general election.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45883411|title=MPs sign up for £2m of free overseas trips|date=18 October 2018|work=BBC News}}</ref>