Tobias Ellwood resigns as defence committee chair after video praising Taliban

A Tory MP has stop as the chair of the House of Commons defence committee after he was criticised for a video by which he appeared to reward the Taliban.

Tobias Ellwood got here below fireplace in July after he stated Afghanistan had been “transformed” below the repressive regime’s rule.

The ex-defence minister later admitted he had “got it wrong”, however the ensuing outcry left him going through a vote of no confidence in his management of the influential committee.

In a resignation assertion, he stated “poor communications” about engagement with Afghanistan had been “understandably criticised” and stated he would step down with “deep regret”.

A former soldier Mr Ellwood hit the headlines in 2017 when he fought to avoid wasting the lifetime of PC Keith Palmer throughout a terror assault on Westminster.

But he confronted a backlash after releasing a video by which he additionally stated that corruption was “down” for the reason that fundamentalists returned to energy in 2021.

One member of the committee described Mr Ellwood’s claims as “utterly bizarre”, accusing him of “lauding the Taliban’s management” of Afghanistan.

Former Tory chief Sir Iain Duncan Smith described the intervention as “not a very welcome statement” in mild of the continued persecution within the nation.

And the veterans minister Johnny Mercer stated it was “clear” that the Taliban remained a “serious threat” to human rights.

Fellow Tory MPs, Mark 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 stated: “It is with deep remorse that I’ve tendered my resignation as chair of the defence committee. I imagine I’ve a robust voice with regards to defence and safety. I get up, communicate my thoughts, attempt to see the larger image and supply options, particularly on the worldwide stage, as our world turns a harmful nook.

“I do not all the time get it proper – so it is proper I put my hand up after I do not. Poor communications, in the course of the summer time, in calling for better worldwide engagement in Afghanistan was understandably criticised on the time and mirrored poorly on the committee. Whilst I do imagine I retain the help of nearly all 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.”