Category Archives: Ben Wallace

UK momentum on Ukraine has dropped under Labour, Ben Wallace says

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Former Tory defence minister says leadership of Sunak era is lacking and bureaucracy is holding up equipment

Momentum on Ukraine has “dropped back” since Labour took office, according to the ex-Tory defence minister and former army officer Sir Ben Wallace.

Responding to recent comments by Kyiv officials that Ukraine’s relationship with the UK has “got worse” since Keir Starmer was elected prime minister, Wallace said that was because “the leadership that Britain showed right from the start has started to drop back into the pack”.

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It’s too late to replace Sunak so Tories must ‘march towards the sound of the guns’, Ben Wallace says – as it happened

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Former defence secretary tells colleagues there is no alternative to Rishi Sunak and to ‘get on with’ preparing for an election. This live blog is closed

Ofcom has ruled today that GB News broke impartiality rules on five occasions by using Tory MPs as news presenters.

But it has not imposed sanctions on the broadaster. It says these count as first offence, and that there may be sanctions if it happens again.

Under the Broadcasting Code, news, in whatever form, must be presented with due impartiality. Additionally, a politician cannot be a newsreader, news interviewer or news reporter unless, exceptionally, there is editorial justification.

In line with the right to freedom of expression, broadcasters have editorial freedom to offer audiences a wide range of programme formats, including using politicians to present current affairs or other non-news programmes. Politicians may also appear in broadcast news content as an interviewee or any other type of guest.

These are the first breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 recorded against GB News. Since opening these investigations, there has only been one further programme which has raised issues warranting investigation under these rules. We are clear, however, that GB News is put on notice that any repeated breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction.

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Minister tells of anger at Ben Wallace over Afghanistan death squad claims

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Johnny Mercer tells inquiry defence secretary did not say he knew of allegations before Commons told they were untrue

A minister has told an inquiry that he was angry with the former defence secretary Ben Wallace after discovering that UK special forces officers knew about Afghanistan death squad allegations before he described them as untrue in the House of Commons.

Johnny Mercer wrote to Wallace in August 2020 shortly after emails surfaced in the Sunday Times that showed senior special forces officers expressed serious concerns about the killings of 33 people in 11 night raids in the war-torn nation in 2011.

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UK minister says he ‘cannot disprove’ claims Afghans were unlawfully killed

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Johnny Mercer tells UK inquiry of reports SAS had killed civilians between 2010 and 2013

The UK’s minister for veterans, Johnny Mercer, has effectively admitted in front of a public inquiry that he believed members of the SAS had engaged in dozens of unlawful killings of Afghan civilians between 2010 and 2013.

Mercer told the inquiry on Tuesday that at one point, shortly after first becoming a minister in 2019, Mercer said he told the then defence secretary, Ben Wallace, that “something stinks”. His boss replied: “There is no new evidence, Johnny,” and the cabinet minster chose not to take any further action.

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Michelle Mone criticises Sunak over his comments about her involvement in PPE contracts – UK politics live

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Former Tory peer claims she never concealed her link to PPE Medpro from officials dealing with the contract

Mark Harper, the transport secretary, has announced in a written statement that Transport for London is getting a capital funding settlement worth £250m for 2024. It will fund upgrades to the Piccadilly line. Sadiq Khan, the mayor, welcomed that announcement but, as the Evening Standard reports, said “a decent long-term funding settlement” from the government was still needed.

Rishi Sunak has said that too many civilian lives have been lost in Gaza – but declined to back Ben Wallace’s claim that Israel is engaged in a “killing rage”. (See 10.27am.)

Israel obviously has a right to defend itself against what was an appalling terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas, but it must do that in accordance with humanitarian law.

It’s clear that too many civilian lives have been lost and nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to.

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Grant Shapps appointed defence secretary as Claire Coutinho takes energy brief in mini-reshuffle – UK politics live

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Energy secretary appointed defence secretary in mini-reshuffle, with Claire Coutinho taking the energy security brief

Grant Shapps said he is “honoured” to become defence secretary and praised Ben Wallace for his time in the role.

Shapps tweeted:

I’m honoured to be appointed as Defence Secretary by Rishi Sunak. I’d like to pay tribute to the enormous contribution Ben Wallace has made to UK defence & global security over the last 4 years.

As I get to work at DefenceHQ I am looking forward to working with the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who defend our nation’s security. And continuing the UK’s support for Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s barbaric invasion.

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Ben Wallace to quit as defence secretary and stand down as MP at next reshuffle

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Defence secretary rows back comments about Ukraine needing to show ‘gratitude’ and says he will not contest next general election

Ben Wallace is to leave government at the next cabinet reshuffle after four years as defence secretary and will not stand in the general election.

Wallace, who has played a key role in responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and was a close ally of Boris Johnson, told the Sunday Times he was “not standing next time” but he ruled out leaving parliament “prematurely” and forcing another byelection on Rishi Sunak, of whom he remains supportive.

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US and UK call for more gratitude from Kyiv after Zelenskiy’s Nato complaint

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Comments come after Ukrainian leader complained his country had not been given firm timetable for joining alliance

Britain’s defence secretary and the US national security adviser have suggested Ukraine ought to show more gratitude for the help it has received from the west, in response to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s complaints that his country has not been issued a firm timetable or set of conditions for joining Nato.

Their unscripted remarks – at two different events on the margins of the second day of the Nato summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius – appeared to prompt a change of tack from the Ukrainian leader on Wednesday, who later said he was “grateful to all leaders of Nato countries” for their support and help.

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Zelenskiy forced to recalibrate to avert Nato summit falling-out

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Ukrainian president’s frustration threatened to overshadow meeting – and did not go unnoticed by other leaders

It was, by the standards of international summits, an undiplomatic intervention. A clearly frustrated Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted that Nato allies were showing Ukraine disrespect, that they were discussing his country’s hopes of joining the military alliance without him. “It seems there is no readiness neither to invite Ukraine to Nato nor to make it a member of the alliance,” he wrote.

The outburst was certainly last minute, coming less than an hour before Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak and Nato other’s 29 leaders were due to sign off a final summit declaration on the topic. It turned out to be a communique that did not spell out a timeline by which Ukraine could join, nor a list of conditions it would have to meet, nor even extend an invitation to join at an unspecified future date once the war with Russia is over.

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Zelenskiy fails in effort to secure invitation to join Nato at Vilnius summit

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Leaders of military alliance sign off on declaration that does not give Ukraine firm membership timetable

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has failed in a last-ditch effort to secure an invitation for Ukraine to join Nato after leaders of the 31 countries signed off on a declaration that did not give a firm timetable or clear conditions for its eventual membership.

The frustrated Ukrainian president had accused Joe Biden and other leaders present at a summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, of showing disrespect and complained that there was “no readiness” to invite his country to join.

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SAS must be named in inquiry into alleged unlawful killings, says Afghan families’ lawyer

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MoD acknowledged at preliminary hearing that ‘UK special forces’ were present in Afghanistan

A partial admission by the defence secretary that UK special forces were present in Afghanistan risks discrediting a public inquiry investigating allegations of unlawful killings by the SAS, according to a lawyer representing victims’ families.

Richard Hermer KC said Ben Wallace had made only “a semi-concession” in a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, when the minister made a rare acknowledgment that “UK special forces” were present in Afghanistan.

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‘It’s not going to happen’: Ben Wallace expects hopes of top Nato job to be dashed

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UK defence secretary had earlier shown interest in the role, but the US is believed to want Jens Stoltenberg to stay in post

The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said he does not expect to be the next head of Nato, amid claims that the US wants the current leader to stay.

In an interview with the Economist, the Conservative MP said “it’s not going to happen”, adding that he thinks the United States wants the current secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, to remain in post for another year.

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Lack of consensus on next Nato chief could lead to Stoltenberg staying on

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Disagreement over possible successors may mean secretary general is asked to remain in role at next month’s summit in Lithuania

Political disagreements, vetoes and personal reluctance make it increasingly likely that the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, will be asked to remain in post for another year at the Nato summit in Lithuania next month.

It would be the third time the former Norwegian prime minister has been asked to extend his almost 10-year term.

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US China hawks to press UK minister for tougher line on Beijing

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Republican-led group expected to lobby Ben Wallace at informal lunch meeting during Westminster visit

A Republican-led group of China hawks from the US Congress will visit Westminster on Friday where they are expected to meet the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, for lunch and press for the UK to take a tougher line on Beijing.

The 11-strong delegation is led by the Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, who chairs a high-profile, newly created China committee. Some fear a strident anti-Beijing tone will alienate centrist and left-leaning politicians in the UK.

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UK sending long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, says defence minister

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Britain donating arms capable of striking targets in occupied Crimea as Kyiv prepares counteroffensive against Russia

Britain has become the first western country to provide Ukraine with the long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles that Kyiv wants to boost its chances in a much-anticipated counteroffensive, prompting a threat from the Kremlin of a military response.

Hours after Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he needed more western weapons to be confident of a victory this summer, Ben Wallace, the UK defence secretary, told MPs that the missiles – which cost more than £2m each – were “now going in, or are in the country itself”.

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Sudan: UK evacuates more than 300 people amid criticism of response

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Further flights expected to leave airfield north of Khartoum on Wednesday, but proportion of British evacuees is unclear

Britain has evacuated more than 300 people from Sudan on rescue flights from an airfield north of the capital, with the first group on their way to the UK from Cyprus, where flights have been stopping over.

Downing Street said 301 people have been evacuated on three flights and that and a fourth was being loaded. A further four flights are expected to take off on Wednesday, but it is not clear what proportion of those rescued are British.

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UK finds itself at back of the queue in Sudan evacuation

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Britain criticised for prioritising embassy staff as Germany and France celebrate evacuating hundreds of citizens

By the time Britain’s first civilian evacuation flight had taken off from a rough airfield north of Khartoum on Tuesday afternoon, other European nations were highlighting their successes in evacuating hundreds of their citizens from Sudan.

Britain’s military may have been the first to use the Wadi Seidna base on Sunday afternoon, with permission of Sudan’s embattled government, to evacuate two dozen diplomatic staff, but the UK then passed on control of the airport to Germany.

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UK refuses to say if it investigated reports of Syria drone strike casualties

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MoD refuses to say whether it has looked into claims civilians were injured in December strike

Britain’s Ministry of Defence is refusing to say whether it conducted an investigation into reports of civilian casualties after an RAF drone strike conducted against a terrorist target in northern Syria last December.

Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, told MPs on Monday that a Reaper drone was used to attack “a leading Daesh [Islamic State] member in al-Bab, northern Syria” on 20 December, the latest strike in controversial policy of attempted targeted killing.

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Nicola Sturgeon denies ‘short-term pressures’ behind resignation as Scottish first minister – UK politics live

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Latest updates: Scotland’s first minister says she has ‘wrestled’ with decision for weeks

SNP MP Stewart McDonald described Nicola Sturgeon as “the finest public servant of the devolution age” amid reports of her expected departure as Scottish first minister.

“Nicola Sturgeon is the finest public servant of the devolution age,” the MP for Glasgow South tweeted, sharing a photograph of himself with Sturgeon.

Absolutely gutted about this. Nicola has been an incredible leader.

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Tories urge Jeremy Hunt to reverse army cuts in forthcoming budget

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Planned 4% reduction in troop numbers should be abandoned in light of Ukraine war, say MPs and officials

Senior Tories are calling on Jeremy Hunt to abandon further cuts to the army by raising defence funding at next month’s budget, amid growing unease at the state of Britain’s military capabilities.

The chancellor has been urged by MPs to ensure the number of troops is held at the current level of about 76,000, instead of reducing it to 73,000 by 2025.

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