Ben Wallace buries stark 10-year warning for Rishi Sunak in emotional resignation letter
The Secretary of State for Defence stepped down this morning, leaving a major whole in Rishi Sunak's cabinet.
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Ben Wallace used his resignation letter to issue a stark warning to Rishi Sunak.
The outgoing Defence Secretary confirmed his resignation this morning in a letter to the Prime Minister, which he used to warn Mr Sunak of an increasingly turbulent world.
He wrote: "I genuinely believe that over the next decade the world will get more insecure and more unstable."
Wallace pressed Sunak to increase defence spending, saying: "We both share the belief that now is the time to invest".
He warned the PM against a "return to the days where Defence was viewed as a discretionary spend by Government and savings were achieved by hollowing out."
Wallace continued: "Ever since I joined the Army I have dedicated myself to serving my country. That dedication however comes at a personal toll to me and my family."
The emotional letter also saw the former Defence Secretary, who gained respect across the world for his role in Ukraine, praise the UK's MoD.
He wrote: "The Ministry of Defence is back on the path to being once again world class with world class people.
"The United Kingdom is respected around the world for our Armed Forces and that respect has only grown more since the war in Ukraine."
His departure left a hole in Rishi Sunak's cabinet, which will be filled by Grant Shapps, former Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Grant Shapps was selected to replace Wallace earlier today
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While former PM Boris Johnson threw his weight behind Shapps, saying he is an "excellent choice", the MP has been torn apart by defence sources within the party, who dubbed him "spreadsheet Shapps".
An insider said that such a choice would "really antagonise the right of the party", accusing him of having a "not so subtle role in trying to destabilise previous governments (particularly Liz [Truss])."
They slammed Mr Shapps for having "absolutely no experience in the role", adding: "Given there is now a war underway right on the border with NATO it would be beyond bonkers to give it to him - I’m not sure he would even know the difference between a tank and a fighter jet!"
A senior backbencher told GB News that the decision shows Downing Street is "nervous of Rishi's position". They described Mr Shapps as being "very very loyal", adding that he "always kisses up."
The MP added: "It means Downing St re-takes power over Defence from independent Ben.
"Not a good decision for the MoD but a real indication of how Downing Street is centring more and more control over the Government, frightened of creating alternative power bases. Not a strong decision."
Another insider added: "[Sunak] is clearly just bringing in his absolute allies and shoreing up his defences".
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Rishi Sunak has come under fire for the decision to appoint Shapps
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In a damning assessment, they continued: "It’s like we are desperate to absolutely blow up any chances we have at the General Election.
"The backbenches will not be happy at all with all this.
"This is how it all starts to go very wrong. We have seen this time and time again."