James Cleverly won't say when he last served in uniform when confronted over Mirror story

Tory leadership candidate James Cleverly refused to say when he last served in uniform when confronted over the Mirror's story raising questions over his military service.

He insisted it “doesn’t matter” when he last served, claiming “I’m not running on my military record.” But moments earlier he spoke at length about his service in a speech to Tory conference in Birmingham.

The Shadow Home Secretary’s website reads "I still serve in the TA”, and on his Commons Register of Interests, he says he is an "Officer in the Reserve Forces." But we revealed yesterday he had declared to the Commons he has received no payments for qualifying days of service since he was elected in 2015. And Mr Cleverly has refused to confirm the date - or even the year - of his last active volunteer service to the Mirror.

It's understood Mr Cleverly is currently assigned to the Army Reserve Reinforcements Group 4 (ARRG4) - to which reserves can be attached if they are unable to fulfil their training requirements for a limited period.

READ MORE: Tory James Cleverly faces questions over military service as Army Reserves haven't paid him for 8 years

The group is usually used to keep reserves who are living abroad on the books, so they can re-join a unit at a later date. But the standard tenure for ARRG4 is two years - which can be extended for up to another two.

Under Army regulations, after four years they’re required to either retire, be voluntarily discharged, or join a reserve list of inactive officers. But Mr Cleverly appears to have stayed on this list for much longer - and is expected to remain on it until 2029. It’s unclear how or why this has been agreed.

In his speech to Tory conference today, the morning after the Mirror’s story broke, he spoke at length about his service in the Reserves - but in the past tense.

“I joined the Reserves and served for the best part of 30 years in the Royal Artillery, finishing as a Lieutenant Colonel,” he said.

“I don’t pretend to be a war hero, but I did command a battery in Bristol of around 100 volunteers, and then one day, I got the call. I got mobilised. I thought I was going to Basra or Baghdad. I was sent to… Luton.”

But confronted over the story following the speech, Mr Cleverly remained tight-lipped over when he last put on a uniform. Asked why he won’t say when he last served, he said: “Because it doesn’t matter. I’m not running on my military record.”

A Labour source said: "The story of Cleverly's military service doesn't add up. He needs to come clean about the conditions of his role and if he's been given special terms.

“Anything less is an insult to our servicemen and women who dedicate their lives to protecting our country."

Mr Cleverly's Register of Interests currently says he has received "no payments since my election" in 2015 - which suggests he may not have served in uniform for nine years.

In 2015 and 2016, Mr Cleverly declared he was “expecting” to earn around £7,000 for his service days. But he never updated the entry to declare the payments had been received.

And in 2016 he updated the register to confirm no payments had been made since his election.

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