Donald Trump sacks Mark Esper as Defence Secretary after election defeat

US President Donald Trump, who has refused to concede defeat to Joe Biden in the recent presidential polls, has now sacked Defence Secretary Mark Esper. 'Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service,' Trump tweeted. 'I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately,' Trump added. Miller is a retired 31-year army veteran who deployed in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 with the Special Forces. The US President had differed with Esper over a range of issues and was particularly angered by his public opposition to Trump's threats to use military personnel to suppress street protests in the US. Esper's sacking comes amid the Trump campaign's claim that there has been a widespread, multi-state conspiracy by Democrats to skew the vote tally in Biden's favour. This move is likely to further unsettle a government that is facing uncertainty over Trump's refusal to concede defeat. Watch the full video for all the latest updates.