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A Tory MP has give up because the chair of the Home of Commons defence committee after he was criticised for a video by which he appeared to reward the Taliban.
Tobias Ellwood got here underneath hearth in July after he mentioned Afghanistan had been “remodeled” underneath the repressive regime’s rule.
The ex-defence minister later admitted he had “obtained it fallacious”, however the ensuing outcry left him dealing with a vote of no confidence in his management of the influential committee.
In a resignation assertion, he mentioned “poor communications” about engagement with Afghanistan had been “understandably criticised” and mentioned he would step down with “deep remorse”.
A former soldier Mr Ellwood hit the headlines in 2017 when he fought to save lots of the lifetime of PC Keith Palmer throughout a terror assault on Westminster.
However he confronted a backlash after releasing a video by which he additionally mentioned that corruption was “down” because the fundamentalists returned to energy in 2021.
One member of the committee described Mr Ellwood’s claims as “totally weird”, accusing him of “lauding the Taliban’s administration” of Afghanistan.
Former Tory chief Sir Iain Duncan Smith described the intervention as “not a really welcome assertion” in mild of the continued persecution within the nation.
And the veterans minister Johnny Mercer mentioned it was “clear” that the Taliban remained a “critical risk” to human rights.
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Fellow Tory MPs, Mr Francois and Richard Drax, had joined Labour’s Kevan Jones and Derek Twigg in submitting the movement of no confidence.
In a press release, Mr Ellwood mentioned : “It’s with deep remorse that I’ve tendered my resignation as chair of the Defence Committee. I consider I’ve a robust voice on the subject of defence and safety. I get up, converse my thoughts, attempt to see the larger image and provide options, particularly on the worldwide stage, as our world turns a harmful nook.
“I do not at all times get it proper – so it is proper I put my hand up after I do not. Poor communications, in the course of the summer season, in calling for larger worldwide engagement in Afghanistan was understandably criticised on the time and mirrored poorly on the Committee. While I do consider I retain the assist of the vast majority of the committee, its dynamic and effectiveness would merely not be the identical, and show a distraction, if all within the room weren’t supportive of the Chair.”
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