COLCHESTER MP Will Quince has resigned from his position as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

The Conservative, who was first elected as MP for Colchester in 2015 and will step down at the next election, said in an open letter to Number 10 that he made the decision because he wanted to focus on his final module of training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Mr Quince added he also wanted more time to fulfil his duties as an MP, and “explore new opportunities.”

A letter, which Mr Quince shared on X, read: “Having taken the decision to stand down at the General Election and having recently joint the Army as a Specialist Reserve Officer, now feels like the right time to leave HM Government.

"This will allow me to focus on the final module of training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and my duties as a constituency Member of Parliament.

"It will also afford me the opportunity to spend more time with my family and explore new opportunities.”

Mr Quince, 40, had previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department for Work and Pensions for two-and-a-half years from 2019 to 2021.

The law graduate then served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Education – a role he described as “the best job in government”.

But Mr Quince resigned ten months later in July 2022 after he “accepted and repeated assurances” received from then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in relation to the Chris Pincher scandal.

The following day, he was appointed Minister of State for Education, a post he held until September, before he then became Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.

In June, Mr Quince then announced he is to step down as an MP at the next election and he has since enrolled on the short commissioning course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

His letter continued: “The request [that I am allowed to step down from my role as Minister of State fore health and Secondary Care at the Department for Health and Social Care] comes after much reflect as it has been a huge honour and privilege to have served you [and worked] to reduce the NHS Covid backlogs, recover urgent and emergency care, and cement the UK as a life sciences superpower.”