UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace will step down during the next reshuffling of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet, a person with knowledge of his plans said.
(Bloomberg) — UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace will step down during the next reshuffling of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet, a person with knowledge of his plans said.
Wallace, the longest-serving Conservative defense chief, would be leaving after a failed quest to become NATO’s secretary general and as his party trails Labour in the polls with a general election due by January 2025. Wallace’s decision isn’t a reflection on the prime minister, whom he informed on June 16, the person said.
Speculation about impending changes in Sunak’s cabinet has been growing amid voter dissatisfaction with 13 years of Tory government and challenges from inflation to the possible collapse of London’s water supplier.
Wallace, 53, won notoriety at this week’s NATO summit in Vilnius by telling reporters that Ukrainian officials should show “a bit of gratitude” for the billions of dollars in military aid provided by allies.
“You know, we’re not Amazon,” he said.
Wallace’s ambitions to win the top North Atlantic Treaty Organization job were dashed as the alliance extended Jens Stoltenberg’s tenure as secretary general for a year. While US President Joe Biden had called Wallace “very qualified” to lead NATO, he stopped short of backing his bid.
Read more: Sunak Shows Frustration as Torrid June Has UK Cabinet on Edge
The Times reported on Wallace’s plans earlier. “I’m not standing next time,” the London-based newspaper quoted him as saying, though he ruled out going “prematurely” and forcing a by-election.
Three Phones
“I went into politics in the Scottish parliament in 1999. That’s 24 years. I’ve spent well over seven years with three phones by my bed,” he told the Times.
Wallace replaced Penny Mordaunt as defense secretary when Boris Johnson took charge as prime minister in 2019. He retained the post under two subsequent premiers, Liz Truss and Sunak, and has helped shape the UK response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
–With assistance from Kit Rees and Susanne Barton.
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