The U.S. Navy secretary, Richard Spencer, has been fired over his intervention in the case of a Navy Seal who posed next to the corpse of a member of the Islamic State in Iraq.
Mr Spencer was instructed to quit by Mark Esper, the U.S. defence secretary.
The dismissal of Mr Spencer is the latest twist in the controversy surrounding Eddie Gallagher, who was cleared of murder, but demoted for having his picture taken next to the corpse.
However, the demotion and the decision to strip him of his prestigious Trident insignia was overruled by Donald Trump.
Mr Trump’s intervention is understood to have upset the Pentagon, with senior figures warning that the move would undermine military discipline.
It had been reported that Mr Spencer threatened to resign over the president’s decision to prevent the disciplinary hearing taking place.
Although Mr Spencer denied that he had threatened to quit, he made clear that he believed that military discipline should be enforced.
