‘Got it wrong’: Top Tory faces vote of no confidence after he apologises for ‘lauding the Taliban’

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of parliament’s defence select committee, said he ‘got it wrong’

Tobias Ellwood faces a no confidence vote which could see him ousted as chairman of parliament’s defence committee over a video in which he praised the Taliban for “vastly improving” Afghanistan.

The senior Tory MP has apologised for posting the video, filmed during a recent trip to the country, and deleted it, accepting that he “got it wrong”.

But fellow members of the defence committee were left furious by the video, and it is understood Mr Ellwood was asked to resign as chairman.

After refusing to step down, MPs on the committee, including Kevan Jones, Mark Francois, Derek Twigg and Richard Drax, tabled the no confidence motion, which will be voted on in September after parliament’s summer recess.

Mr Jones, a Labour MP, told The Independent: “People are very angry with the video and having him as chairman undermines the credibility of the committee.”

Mr Ellwood had faced days of backlash from fellow Tory MPs over the clip, in which he called for Britain to resume talks with the Taliban and claimed the oppressive regime had achieved peace not seen since the 1970s.

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

“He made no mention of the fact that the Taliban was still attempting to identify and kill Afghan citizens who helped our armed forces, and also makes no specific mention of the fact that young girls in Afghanistan don’t even have the right to go to school under that government,” Mr Francois added.

He said Mr Ellwood was not speaking on behalf of the defence committee.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the video was “not a very welcome statement” in light of the ongoing persecution in Afghanistan. And Veterans minister Johnny Mercer said it is “clear” the Taliban remains a “serious threat” to human rights.

In the video, Mr Ellwood said: “It feels different now that the Taliban have returned to power. Well it may be hard to believe but security has vastly improved, corruption is down and the opium trade has all but disappeared. Solar panels are now everywhere, powering irrigation pumps, allowing more crops to grow.”

But taking to Twitter to apologise on Thursday morning, he said: “However well intentioned, reflections of my personal visit could have been better worded.

“I am sorry for my poor communication.”

Mr Ellwood, who lost his brother in the 2002 Bali bombing, said he has been drawn by the attack to visit Afghanistan “many times” in the past decade.

“During my visit last week, I witnessed something I did not expect to see - an eerie calm and a visible change in security, corruption and opium growth which I felt obliged to report,” he said. He said without international intervention, the country’s economy is at risk of collapse, fuelling mass migration and allowing terrorist camps to thrive, repeating calls for Britain to reopen its embassy in the country.

But Mr Ellwood acknowledged that he also saw “the increasing restrictions on women and girls”.

And he said: “Again, I am sorry for my wording and hope this places my thinking into context.”