Defense Secretary Ben Wallace is stepping down at the next election | Politics news

[ad_1]

Boris Johnson’s ally has also confirmed that he will leave Rishi Sunak’s government in the next cabinet reshuffle, which is expected to take place in the fall. It comes days after he warned Ukraine that the UK was not an Amazon delivery service for weapons.

By Daniel Baines, news reporter

Sat 15 Jul 2023 18:31, United Kingdom

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said he would stand down as a Member of Parliament at the next election.

“Next time I won’t stand,” Wallace, the longest-serving governor at the helm of the Department of Defense, said in an interview with The Times.

He added that he would not force a by-election to resign “prematurely” – as Boris Johnson’s allies have done.

Wallace also confirmed that he will leave the government in the next cabinet reshuffle, which is expected to take place this fall.

Sky News reported he was considering the move on Saturday.

He told The Times: “I got into politics in the Scottish Parliament in 1999. That’s 24 years old. I spent more than seven years with three phones by my bed.”

When asked about the purpose of these devices, he replied: “Secret, secret, and secret.”

Read more: The final Russian-Ukrainian war: Wagner forces cross border into Belarus, Kiev says

It follows controversy last week when the defense secretary said at a NATO summit briefing that the UK was not an “Amazon” delivery service for weapons to Ukraine.

He also said that Kiev might be wise to let its supporters “see gratitude”.

Later, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dismissed the comments, saying that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had “expressed his gratitude for what we have done on a number of occasions”.

Mr Zelensky, speaking at the same event in Lithuania, also responded: “I think we’ve always been grateful to the UK.”

“President Zelensky expressed his gratitude” to the UK, says Rishi Sunak.

This is a limited edition version of the story, so unfortunately this content is not available. Unlock the full version

Speculation about the defense secretary’s fate has been mounting for weeks, as officials within the Defense Department wonder who might replace him.

It also comes on the heels of the UK’s failed attempt to make Wallace the next head of NATO.

The 53-year-old last month ruled himself out of the race to replace Jens Stoltenberg after apparently failing to secure the backing of the United States.

Mr Wallace was once nominated as a potential candidate for Conservative Party Leader and Prime Minister.

But he ruled himself out of the race to succeed Boris Johnson last summer and instead backed eventual winner Liz Truss.

He then said he would not run to replace her and revealed that he was “leaning” towards supporting Johnson’s return to office.

Wallace was facing the prospect of losing his constituency of Werry and Preston North at the next general election given the boundary changes – meaning he would have needed to stand in another seat to remain as an MP.

[ad_2]