Britain lost it’s defense procurement minister Monday evening when Guto Bebb became the latest victim of the Conservative government’s handling of Brexit.
Bebb resigned barely six months after his appointment to oversee the Ministry of Defence’s £14 billion annual procurement and support budget.
The procurement minister attended the opening day of the Farnborough Airshow July 16 and was scheduled to be at the event for the bulk of the week helping support Britain’s defense effort.
Bebb quit to vote in Parliament against government concessions to Brexit supporters in a customs bill laying out British proposals for exiting the European Union.
One industry executive, who asked not to be named, said that while Bebb had only been in office a brief time he had generally left a good impression.
“He challenged, he was engaged and got involved in the process of how procurement works at the MoD,” the executive said.
It’s not the first time the government has lost a defense minister during Farnborough. In 2014, then Defence Secretary Philip Hammond was moved to foreign secretary the day after the show started. Michael Fallon replaced him at the MoD.
A replacement for Bebb is expected to be named in the next day or so.
Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.
