Tom Tugendhat has criticised Robert Jenrick for using footage of an SAS soldier who has since died in one of his Tory leadership campaign videos.
The former lieutenant colonel revealed that he knew the soldier involved in an emotional interview on the BBC’s Newsnight programme on Tuesday.
Jenrick has already been widely criticised for claiming in the same video that the SAS kill terrorists rather than capturing them because they fear they will just be released by the European Court of Human Rights.
Tugendhat said the claim was “factually wrong” before going on to hit out at the footage in the video of special forces operating in Afghanistan more than 20 years ago.
He said: “What’s particularly upsetting is using a piece of footage of some of the people I served with, one of whom died shortly after that film was taken, in an accident, and is not able to defend himself from the accusation that has effectively been levelled against him.”
Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire replied: “So that is actually footage of somebody you knew?”
Tugendhat said: “Yes, that’s footage of a soldier in northern Afghanistan in around 2002.”
Asked how he felt about it, the MP said: “Well I do not think we should be using footage of our special forces soldiers in operations.”
Derbyshire said: “Should Robert Jenrick remove that footage?”
Tugendhat replied: “I would not put that video out, in fact I would pull it down.”
HuffPost UK has contacted Jenrick’s campaign team for comment.