MP says he tried to 'blag' military hearing test despite deafness in one ear
Tory MP Jonathan Gullis has described how he tried to "blag" his way through a hearing test to enter the military despite being deaf in one ear, as
The former minister was speaking in the Commons and describing his pride in coming from a military family as MPs considered proposals to give greater local support to armed forces veterans.
He said: "I'm very proud to speak in this debate as someone who comes from a proud military family.
"Although, despite trying to blag the test myself, being deaf in one ear, trying to pretend that I could hear the beeps going off, not realising that they hadn't pressed play on the machine yet as I was doing that, caught me out."
He was speaking as the Commons debated the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees Bill.
The Bill is aimed at providing greater local support to armed forces veterans through reforming the duties of independent regional committees set up to support veterans, called veterans advisory and pensions committees (VAPCs).
It would give the 12 committees spread across different regions of the UK broader powers to help veterans with their pensions and other support available to them, as well as allow VAPCs to provide more help to veterans' wider families.
The Bill's sponsor, Conservative MP Robin Millar (Aberconwy), said: "In many respects this is very much a boiler room Bill. It's in the background, it deals with the piping… it doesn't deal with the front of house expression of what happens.
"By giving these freedoms… it enables the minister to make quicker changes in response to feedback that comes through the system."
The Bill received an unopposed third reading and will now progress to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.
Join Our Newsletter
