Tory MP Ellwood quits Commons post after Afghanistan rowon September 13, 2023 at 5:47 pm

Tory MP Tobias Ellwood has quit as chair of a Commons committee, following criticism over his comments on Afghanistan.

The former defence minister was criticised in July for saying the country had been “transformed” under the Taliban’s rule.

He was facing a potential no-confidence vote from fellow MPs on the defence select committee.

But sources have told the BBC he has now stood down from the role.

A source familiar with the situation said the Bournemouth East MP had resigned before he was “pushed”.

Mr Ellwood initially defended his comments, saying stability in the country was on a “different level” than during times of conflict.

But he later apologised, saying he had “got it wrong” with his remarks, which he had posted on social media during a trip to Helmand province.

In the social media clip, the MP claimed “war-weary” Afghanistan was now “accepting a more authoritarian leadership in exchange for stability”.

He also called for the UK to re-engage with the Taliban government and for Kabul’s British embassy to reopen, and said “shouting from afar will not improve women’s rights”.

He put out a tweet with the video saying that security was vastly improved, corruption reduced and the opium trade “ended” – although he qualified this in video by saying the trade had “all but disappeared”.

In fact, opium cultivation in 2022 was up by 32% compared with 2021, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The MP’s comments sparked a backlash from human rights campaigners, women’s groups and MPs, including his Conservative colleagues on the cross-party defence committee.

Tory MPs Mark Francois and Richard Drax had joined Labour’s Kevan Jones and Derek Twigg in submitting a no-confidence motion in him.