Millionaire quiz cheat asked to leave Army

Major Charles Ingram, who cheated his way to the jackpot on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, has been asked to leave the Army.

Major Ingram, who used a series of coded coughs from an accomplice in the audience to guess the right answers, received a letter from the British Ministry of Defence this morning asking him to resign, his spokesman said.

The 39-year-old father-of-three was convicted at London's Southwark Crown Court in April of conning his way to the £1m (€1.4m) prize.

The former Royal Engineer is due to hold a press conference outside his home in High Street, Easterton, Wiltshire, UK, later today.

A spokeswoman for the British MoD confirmed that Major Ingram had agreed to resign his commission.

She said: "An administrative investigation was carried out by the chain of command following the fact that he was found guilty of deception.

"The Army Board has delivered its findings and requested that Major Ingram resign his commission. We can confirm that he has resigned his commission and will leave the Army on August 20."

The spokeswoman said that the circumstances of Major Ingram's departure from the British Army would not affect his pension entitlements.