Tobias Ellwood suspended as Tory MP after missing confidence vote

A senior Tory MP has been suspended from the parliamentary party after he missed a vote of confidence in Boris Johnson's government.

Tobias Ellwood has had the whip removed and will not be able to vote in the Conservative leadership election.

Mr Ellwood said he was "sorry" to lose the whip but argued he was unable to return from a meeting in Moldova.

The government won the vote and the prime minister is due to continue in his role until a successor is elected.

Mr Ellwood, a former minister who chairs the Commons Defence Committee, said he had a meeting with the president of Moldova on Monday and had been "unable to secure return travel due to unprecedented disruption both here and in the UK".

"I am very sorry to lose the whip but will now continue my meetings in Ukraine promoting the prime minister's efforts here and specifically seeking to secure the reopening of Odessa port - so vital grain exports can recommence," Mr Ellwood said in a statement.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February and its forces have blockaded some Black Sea ports, including the key grain-exporting city of Odesa.

Mr Ellwood tweeted a picture of himself sitting in a meeting with the governor of Odesa Oblast, Ukrainian colonel Maksym Marchenko.

Meanwhile, the UK government survived a vote of confidence in itself on Monday, winning by 349 votes to 238, a majority of 111.

Other Tory MPs did not vote on Monday's confidence motion, but only Mr Ellwood has had the party whip removed.

The Tory Whips Office said other MPs who could not make the vote were "paired appropriately".

Pairing is an arrangement between two MPs of opposing parties to not vote on a particular issue. This enables an MP to be absent without affecting the result of the vote as they effectively cancel each other out.

Mr Ellwood's suspension prevented him for voting in the fourth leadership ballot of Tory MPs, who whittled down the candidates to three on Tuesday.

He is supporting trade minister Penny Mordaunt, who is currently in second place ahead of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who is being backed by allies of Mr Johnson.

Ms Mordaunt's team have dismissed the whips' argument, with one backer telling BBC Newsnight's Nick Watt, external "why didn't they do that for Tobias? He was visiting Moldova".

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, an ally of Mr Johnson, said suggestions that the prime minister was trying to remove a vote for Ms Mordaunt by stripping the whip from Mr Ellwood were "wholly untrue".

"Every single MP of every party is under no illusion regarding the price to be paid in not voting during a Gov confidence motion," Ms Dorries wrote in a tweet, external. "It's a very clearly defined and historic red line.

"Tobias could have voted like everyone else."

In an unusual move, the government called the vote after it rejected a Labour motion that made reference to the prime minister.

The vote could have triggered a general election had the government lost, although that would have required dozens of Conservative MPs to side with Labour and other opposition parties.

It means Mr Johnson will carry on as prime minister until a new Tory leader is elected and replaces him in September this year.

Ahead of the vote, Mr Johnson defended his government and his track record, speaking at length about about Brexit, support for Ukraine and his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.