Tobias Ellwood has resigned as chair of the defence select committee after four of its members called for a vote of no confidence in light of comments he made praising the Taliban after a visit to Afghanistan in July.
The Conservative MP said he had been guilty of “poor communications” and that continuing to serve as chair would be a distraction, though he insisted that he retained the support of the majority of MPs on the committee.
“I believe I have a strong voice when it comes to defence and security,” he said. “I stand up, speak my mind. I don’t always get it right, so it’s right I put my hand up when I don’t.”
His intervention before the summer recess left both Conservative colleagues and Labour opponents dismayed, and his ability to continue as chair of the backbench committee in serious doubt.
After his visit, Ellwood released a video in which he described Afghanistan as a “country transformed”. He said that “security has vastly improved, corruption is down and the opium trade has all but disappeared” since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021.
The film made little mention of women’s rights, which have dramatically worsened, and was criticised by Afghan women, military veterans and several members of the cross-party committee he has chaired since the election.
Ellwood, a former army captain, tried and failed to defuse the row by issuing an apology in July, when he said: “My reflection[s] of my visit could have been much better worded and have been taken out of context.” He also deleted the film.
Before parliament broke up, however, two Conservative and two Labour MPs tabled a vote of no confidence to take place when the committee met again in September. It had been expected to take place at a private meeting on Thursday.
The Conservative critics were Mark Francois, a former armed forces minister, and Richard Drax, who were joined by Labour’s Kevan Jones and Derek Twigg. Together they make up more than a third of the 11-member committee. Ellwood faced an uphill task to survive, as six votes would be enough to cast him out.
Francois told the Commons in July that he had been “absolutely stunned” by the video “lauding the Taliban’s governance of Afghanistan, not mentioning they’re still trying to identify and kill Afghan civilians who sided with Nato forces, and also not mentioning the fact they don’t like girls to go to school”.
Ellwood’s replacement will be voted on by all MPs in a secret ballot. Nominations will be restricted to Conservatives, because the chairmanship was allocated to a member of the party after the 2019 general election.
