Tobias Ellwood has resigned as the chair of the Commons Defence Committee following outrage over a controversial video which saw him crediting the Taliban for improving safety in Afghanistan.

Seemingly, the Tory MP, who was facing a vote of no confidence in the morning, jumped before he was pushed.

In July, the veteran politician shared a video on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, calling on the UK to reopen its embassy in Kabul.

He claimed that since the Taliban’s retaking of power in 2021 “security has vastly improved, corruption is down and the opium trade has all but disappeared”.

READ MORE: Glasgow charity challenges Tobias Ellwood MP on Taliban comments

The video, with its uplifting music, was described as having a “wish you were here” feel by critics, though it was welcomed by the Taliban.

The Glasgow Afghan United charity said the comments provoked “serious concern and indeed anger amongst the Scottish Afghan community, many members of which were forced to flee their homeland as a direct result of Taliban threat.” 

The former soldier later deleted the video and apologised, saying that he "got it wrong" and that the comments “could have been better worded.”

He said: 'However well-intentioned, reflections of my personal visit could have been better worded.

"I am sorry for my poor communication. I stand up, speak my mind, try to see the bigger picture and offer solutions, especially on the international stage, as our world turns a dangerous corner.

"I don't always get it right."

He added: "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.

"But I also saw a very vulnerable economy that will soon collapse without international intervention, turning this country into a failed state with terrorist camps no doubt returning and triggering mass migration.

"I also saw the increasing restrictions on women and girls. This suggests our current strategy of shouting from afar, after abruptly abandoning the country in 2021, is not working. 

"My simple call to action was to see our embassy reopen again and pursue a more direct strategy to help the 40 million people that we abandoned."

A notice period of 10 sitting days for confidence motions had been due to expire on Thursday. It is unlikely Mr Ellwood would have survived the vote.

The motion had been tabled by fellow Tory MPs Mark Francois and Richard Drax and Labour’s Kevan Jones and Derek Twigg.

The post of Committee chair comes with a £17,000 a year wage bump.

Responding to news of the resignation, the SNP's Martin Docherty-Hughes, who sits on the committee told The Herald Mr Ellwood's position had been "pretty untenable."

He said: "Tobias was someone who brought his experience both as a Minister and in his former career as an Army Officer to good effect on the Committee, but this frankly bizarre contribution was as ill-judged as it was poorly received by most MPs.

"The privilege of representing a Select Committee comes with the responsibility of not bringing it into disrepute, and striking such a strident tone on a demonstrably nuanced issue meant his position was pretty much untenable. 

"I don’t know what the final verdict of the UK’s two decades in Afghanistan will be, but regardless the fact that tens of thousands of UK personnel – including my own brother - served in that conflict, with so many giving their lives or having them irrevocably changed, make any insinuation that the country is better in the hands of the Taliban a pretty astonishing one.

"This is to say nothing of the women of Afghanistan, so many of whom are now forced into fleeing to find a better life abroad.”