Tobias Ellwood resigns as Commons Defence Committee chair
T
obias Ellwood has stop as Defence Committee chairman forward of an anticipated vote of no confidence, citing remarks about Afghanistan that have been “understandably criticised”.
The Conservative former defence minister had confronted a backlash over the summer time from members of the group after claiming that safety within the nation had “vastly improved” and “corruption is down” after the Taliban’s return.
He has referred to as for Britain to reopen its embassy in Kabul, following on from the European Union re-establishing a bodily presence within the territory final yr.
A subsequent apology had not prevented members of the cross-party committee looking for to take away him from the high-profile function, with a no confidence movement submitted on July 19.
In a resignation assertion, Mr Ellwood mentioned he believed he retained the assist of nearly all of the committee however {that a} lack of unanimous backing would show distracting from its work.
Fellow Tory MPs Mark Francois and Richard Drax had joined Labour’s Kevan Jones and Derek Twigg in submitting the movement.
In a publish on X, previously often called Twitter, Mr Ellwood mentioned: “It is with deep regret that I have tendered my resignation as chair of the Defence Committee. I believe I have a strong voice when it comes to defence and security. I stand up, speak my mind, try to see the bigger picture and offer solutions, especially on the international stage, as our world turns a dangerous corner.”
He added: “I don’t always get it right – so it’s right I put my hand up when I don’t. Poor communications, during the summer, in calling for greater international engagement in Afghanistan was understandably criticised at the time and reflected poorly on the committee.
“Whilst I do believe I retain the support of the majority of the committee, its dynamic and effectiveness would simply not be the same, and prove a distraction, if all in the room were not supportive of the chair.”
A discover interval of 10 sitting days for confidence motions had been because of expire on Thursday and Mr Ellwood had anticipated to return below stress to retain his chairmanship.
He mentioned he was “proud of the hard-hitting inquiries” the committee had produced and described main its scrutiny as a “huge privilege”.