Former Tory whip Michael Fabricant has been sacked as vice-chair of the Conservative Party following a critical tweet of Maria Miller and the HS2 rail scheme.
The Lichfield MP claimed said he was asked to resign but refused, so was then sacked by party chairman Grant Shapps.
Mr Fabricant, a prolific user of Twitter, posted a message on the social network site which said: "Been asked to resign as Vice Chairman, refused, so sacked over HS2 and my views on a recent Cabinet Minister."
After news of Mrs Miller's resignation broke he said: "Well, about time."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Been asked to resign as Vice Chairman, refused, so sacked over HS2 and my views on a recent Cabinet Minister. Still available 4 speeches etc— Michael Fabricant (@Mike_Fabricant) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Mike_Fabricant/statuses/453952477571063808" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-267821-https://twitter.com/Mike_Fabricant/statuses/453952477571063808" data-vars-event-id="c23">April 9, 2014</a>
He added on Twitter: "Note to self: If ever a minister again, be like Mark Harper. If in trouble, resign quickly & in a dignified manner. Lesson to us all."
Mr Fabricant is set to lead a Tory revolt against the £50 billion HS2 rail scheme later this month, calling for legislation paving the way for the London-Birmingham link to be denied a second reading.
His amendment to the HS2 bill calls on the Government to bring forward a cheaper and more environmentally "sympathetic" route.
Mr Fabricant received messages of support from other Twitter users, repeating a comment from Brett Rickles saying: "Has @Mike-Fabricant been sacked for tweeting majority public opinion re: Miller and HS2? Shame."
In a reply to one user who claimed to be "stunned by the news" Mr Fabricant said: "I think it was a knee-jerk decision."
He added: "Thanks for all the lovely tweets. Look: I am still a Conservative MP and my personality and twitter fingers are undiminished! I ain't dead!"
