The wife of a minister sacked in Liz Truss’ cabinet purge has described her as an ‘imbecile’.

Johnny Mercer was ‘relieved of his duties’ as veterans affairs ministers today, a role he was appointed to less than two months ago.

The former soldier was brought back into government by Boris Johnson, who elevated the post to cabinet status, but he was quickly ousted by the new prime minister.

He released an unusually emotional resignation letter shortly after the new prime minister finished her inaugural speech, signalling he is considering leaving politics altogether. 

The wife of the Plymouth MP took to Twitter to share her own thoughts, blasting Ms Truss for her decision.

Felicity Cornelius-Mercer tweeted: ‘He asked her “why would you do this, who is going to be better at this role than me, which of your mates gets the job, you promised a meritocracy?”

‘PM – I can’t answer that Johnny.

‘This system stinks & treats people appallingly. Best person I know sacked by an imbecile @trussliz.’

Last week she posted a photo of her husband and one of their children, with a message about ‘waiting for the axe to fall’ and how ‘all the hard fought gains seem very fragile & solutions to outstanding issues get further away’.

In his resignation letter, the former army captain said he was ‘disappointed’ but conceded ‘any prime minister is entitled to reward her supporters’.

He said the strain of holding the government post had been ‘extremely lonely’ and ‘come at an enormous cost’.

Mr Mercer added: ‘I have to accept that I will never possess the qualities required for enduring success in politics as it stands, and to be fair to my wonderful family, I must consider my future.’

The new PM has also moved against Rishi Sunak supporters, ousting senior figures like Dominic Raab, Grant Shapps and Steve Barclay. 

She has made her long time ally Thérèse Coffey health secretary and deputy prime minister while Jacob Rees-Mogg has been given the business, energy and industrial strategy brief.

Kwasi Kwarteng is the new chancellor and James Cleverly has been promoted to Truss’ old position as foreign secretary.

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