AN Army general in charge of recruitment has resigned over an affair with a female captain under his command.
Dad-of-two Major General Chris Bell was ordered to go when he was found to have lied about the relationship.
He has been replaced by Major General Sharon Nesmith, the first woman to reach the rank of General Officer Commanding.
Maj Gen Bell served alongside Defence Secretary Ben Wallace as young officers in the Scots Guards and was appointed honorary colonel of the elite regiment last year.
He was first investigated over a routine matter in 2018 when Brigadier in command of the secretive Berkshire-based 77 Brigade, which specialises in psychological operations and unconventional warfare.
He was then alleged to have tried to cover up the full extent of his relationship with the reservist.
Maj Gen Bell was summoned to an Army Board, led by the former SAS chief and Army head General Sir Mark Carleton Smith, and quit before Christmas.
Maj Gen Bell — who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was made a CBE in 2019 — insisted that his relationship with her was “emotional not physical”.
The part-time captain involved has since left the Army and started a family.
An Army source said: “He was directed to resign because he was found to have lied about the nature of his relationship with his subordinate.”
An Army spokesman said: “Major General Chris Bell has retired. We are not prepared to release any personal information.”
Friends denied suggestions he fathered a child with his mistress.
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