The parliamentary aide to British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth has resigned after criticising policy on Afghanistan, it was confirmed tonight.
In a letter to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Eric Joyce called on the British leader to make it clear to the British people that the Afghanistan campaign was “time limited”.
He said the public would not accept for “much longer that our losses can be justified by simply referring to the risk of greater terrorism on our streets”.
Mr Ainsworth said: “Eric Joyce is, of course, entitled to his opinion and whilst we thank him for his service as a junior parliamentary aide, it is vital that we have a leadership team that is fully committed to our mission in Afghanistan.
“The picture he paints is not one that I nor many people within the MoD recognise, whether military or civilian.
“Everyone in defence, and the wider government, is fully committed to ensuring that our forces succeed in the
operations on which they are engaged in Afghanistan, and that they have the necessary equipment and support to do the job.
“Our mission in Afghanistan is vital to our national security. We will not walk away from that responsibility.”
Shadow defence secretary Dr Liam Fox said: “This will be a blow for Gordon Brown, it is coming just the night before he makes a major speech on Afghanistan.
“Eric Joyce is one of the few Labour MPs with military experience...and I think the fact that he has felt it necessary to come out with such strong reservations about the Government’s handling of defence and of Afghanistan is significant.
“It is rather foolish tonight to try to rubbish him in the way they have been doing.”