It comes as he shared in an interview with The Times that he would not be keeping the position: “I’m not standing next time.”Wallace is the longest-serving Conservative defence secretary and added that although he will be standing down, he will not be resigning “prematurely” which would create a by-election. The defence sectary also added that he would be leaving the cabinet at the next reshuffle, expected in autumn. 🔺 EXCLUSIVE: Defence secretary Ben Wallace (@BWallaceMP) has decided to leave the cabinet at the next reshuffle and, after eighteen years in parliament, he will not fight the next general electionhttps://t.co/hq50d5ZNBS — The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) July 15, 2023Wallace’s decision happens to come following backlash from comments he made during a press conference last week. In the conference, he said that the UK was not an “Amazon” delivery service for weapons to Ukraine, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was quick to push back against the comments. Questions on who will replace Wallace have been circling among officials at the Ministry of Defence but confirmation on who will take over is said not to be shared until the cabinet reshuffle.

Source: The Times July 15, 2023 18:15 UTC