"Sad to be relieved of responsibilities"
Devon MP Jonny Mercer, who had penned a letter to the prime minister resigning his post as defence minister appears to have been pushed in what's being described as a pre-emptive strike by number 10.
Mr Mercer, a former army captain who now represents Plymouth Moor View, had let it be known he was unhappy that he wasn't happy with the government's direction. On Monday night he took to Twitter with parts of his letter in which he said the prime minister said "all the right things" but failed "to match that with what we deliver."
He said the government had: “abandoned our people in a way I simply cannot reconcile” and: “Whilst endless plans are promised… veterans are being sectioned, drinking themselves to death and dying well before their time - simply because the UK Government cannot find the moral strength or courage… to stop these appalling injustices.”
He's thought to have clashed with his boss, defence secretary Ben Wallace.
Although the government has put out a polite statement accepting Mr Mercer, 39, for his service, The Daily Telegraph, which has close links to Downing Street, not least through its former star columnist and leader writer Boris Johnson, is reporting that Mr Mercer was told to resign or be fired.
Mr Mercer says he is sorry that he has been relieved of his responsibilities in government.
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