Fletcher, who was appointed editorial director in 2003, had previously been new-media director at the Telegraph Group. He had responsibility for editorial and production activities of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.
No replacement has been named, but speculation is that he will be succeeded by Andrew Neil, editorial director of the Barclay brothers' Press Holdings titles The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and The Business.
Fletcher is a former editor of the Independent on Sunday and his elevation was designed to protect editorial interests in the broader management of the paper.
Fletcher is a board member and the last of the old guard to go, following the £665m takeover of the newspaper group by the Barclay brothers.
The Telegraph had already axed a number of senior directors including commercial director Mark Payne, group sales director Chris White-Smith, marketing director Mark Dixon and managing director Hugo Drayton.
Fletcher, who spent most of his career working on the Sunday Telegraph, departs just as his partner, Sands, was elevated to the editorship of that paper earlier this week.
The changes are all part of chief executive Murdoch McLennan's ongoing management shake-up.
Fletcher began his career on the The Sheffield Star in 1978 before joining The Sunday Times in the earlier 1980s.
He joined The Daily Telegraph in 1986 before switching to The Sunday Telegraph as a reporter in 1988.
He stayed with The Sunday Telegraph until 1998 when he was named editor of The Independent on Sunday before returning to the Telegraph Group in 2000 as Hollinger Telegraph New Media editorial director.
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