Mark Francois ridiculed after warning army general 'Cummings is going to sort you out'

The Tory MP and prominent Brexiteer Mark Francois, has sensationally warned a top British army general that if he doesn't get his department organised then Dominic Cummings is going to come and 'sort him out.'

During aHouse of Commons defence select committee hearing on Tuesday, Francois spoke to Sir Nick Carter, chief of the Defence Staff, who has been in the service since 1978 and is a veteran of the conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq and gave him this warning:

Can we just make a plea to you? You are the professional head of the armed forces. Please nip back to the department and ask them to sort their bloody selves out, because if not, Cummings is going to come down there and sort you out his own way, and you won’t like it.

Carter didn't seem particularly disturbed by this threat, sniggering and smiling back at Francois before the Tory MP and committee chair Tobias Ellwood moved the session on.

Francois, who is often a source of ridicule on social media, soon found himself being mocked again for taking such a stance against the general only for Carter to laugh it off.

Cummings is reportedly keen on reforming the defence department having referred to the procurement process as a 'farce' in a blog post on his website last year.

Downing Street had also announced its intentions to review the department after the 2019 general election. In a press release the government said:

The government will undertake a new integrated foreign policy, security and defence review which will extend from the armed forces to the intelligence services, counter-terrorism, serious organised crime, diplomacy and development. This will ensure we are making the best use of spending to ensure all our security forces are ahead of hostile powers, terrorists and organised crime.