U.K. Defense Minister Ben Wallace has said in an interview published by the Times on July 15 that he plans to resign from his post at the next reshuffle of Cabinet and would not run for parliament in the next general election.
“I'm not standing next time,” said the longest-serving defense minister in government since the end of World War II.
Wallace, who played a key role in Britain's response to Russia's war on Ukraine, told Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of his decision on June 15 but wanted to make it public later this summer. He plans to leave Sunak's cabinet in September this year, when the next reshuffle is expected to take place.
Wallace added that two fears kept him awake at night – a combination of threats coming from “Vladimir Putin's Russia, an increasingly aggressive China and terrorist groups."
He expects that by 2030, the world is going to be “much more unsafe, more insecure.”
“I think we will find ourselves in a conflict. Whether it is a cold or a warm conflict, I think we’ll be in a difficult position,” Wallace said.
Anastasiia Lapatina
(Updated: )
