Former Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer has launched a scathing attack on York Council after it banned military kit from Armed Forces Day celebrations.

Leader of City of York Council, Claire Douglas claimed the move does "not diminish how seriously we take Armed Forces Day".

A source close to the planned event claimed the ban was made through fear of "triggering protest" in the city centre.

Delivering his verdict on GB News, Mercer criticised the council for their "tokenistic" celebration of Britain's veterans.

Johnny Mercer hit out at York Council's 'embarrassing' decision to ban military kit at their Armed Forces Day celebration

Mercer stated: "It's in line with the kind of moral ambivalence and tokenistic interest we see in the veterans and in the military in this country. And to be honest, I think a lot in the military community are pretty fed up with it.

"It's embarrassing and I think the key thing is, it doesn't really represent what ordinary folk think. Ordinary folk are incredibly proud of the military."

Noting that there are people who are against the military, Mercer admitted it is "sad", but is now the "world we live in" in modern Britain.

Mercer told GB News: "You do have these outliers who who seem to think that everyone hates the military, whereas in fact, they're this incredible force for good, this incredible life chances machine that you can go and have a great career afterwards from.

York Council's leader has claimed the move 'does not diminish' from how 'seriously they take armed forces day'

"So I think it's really sad, but it's the world we live in. So I'm not surprised, but I don't think many of us are going to let it happen without saying something."

Criticising the lack of support for veterans by the Labour Government, Mercer claimed that the rights of veterans are being "corroded" by Keir Starmer's rule.

Mercer said: "You've seen under this Government, veterans rights have slowly sort of corroded, progress being undone and things like that.

"We've got a government that is going from legislation to protect veterans in Northern Ireland to paying Gerry Adams compensation, so I think that's the way the political tide is going at the moment, and I just think this is a wider reflection of that."

Mercer told GB News that he is 'sick' of 'tokenistic' celebrations for Britain's veterans

In direct criticism of York Council's reasoning for the ban, Mercer said it was another example of the "tokenistic" approach to veterans in how they are celebrated across the UK.

He concluded: "If you look at the statement York Council put out, they talk about the armed forces covenant and how they're gold award holders and so on, but they're not prepared to show military kit on parade on Armed Forces Day.

"And it just shows you the kind of tokenistic approach that I'm afraid some of us are quite sick of in the UK, and shows that there needs to be better metrics and a better way of holding local authorities and groups that support the military to account."

In a statement, leader of City of York Council Claire Douglas said: "With our military partners, we carefully considered residents' concerns and decided that they will go ahead as planned, with the only change being no military equipment on show.

"This decision in no way diminishes how seriously we take Armed Forces Day and our deep respect and commitment to those who serve and have served. We look forward to a fantastic day."