Tobias Ellwood blasts Nadine Dorries' resignation delay as 'messy and embarrassing'

Speaking on the Camilla Tominey Show on GBNews, Ellwood said: "It's been an undignified chapter. I'm afraid what she's done has been self-serving.

"It's been distracting to delay her resignation in this way. I don't really want to spend a lot of airtime on this, which is an episode of colleagues throwing their teddies in the corner, in this case for simply not getting a peerage.

"It has been messy, it has been embarrassing for both the parliament and specifically to our party.

"So I'm pleased we're now able to move on. You know, whatever you do in Parliament, whatever positions you take, you must firstly be in the country's interests.

"Secondly, in the party's interests and what she and others have done recently fails on both accounts.

"How you conduct yourself in moments of difficulty or disappointment actually exposes a lot and delaying this resignation was designed to maximise harm to the Prime Minister.

"I'm pleased that this sort of selfish charade is now over. The party can now move forward and we pick up the pieces and we repair.

"We have a fantastic candidate now and I believe we will retain the seat."

On Saturday, Dorries resigned from the Commons, over two months after she pledged to go "with immediate effect".

The Treasury confirmed it had been notified of her intention to formally step down.

The Veterans' Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer has also slapped down Dorries' criticism of the Government.

Mercer said: "I’m always very sad when these things are played out in public, she's written a very personal letter to the Prime Minister, as is her right.

"You take some aspects in there that I'm familiar with, like defence spending, she talks about defence spending being cut.

"I mean, it's just fundamentally not the case."