Ben Wallace supported Liz Truss for Tory leadership last night when he criticized Rishi Sunak for “walking out the door” and leaving the economy when he resigned as chancellor (you can read the whole story here)
Mr Wallace said this morning that he had decided to support Ms Truss because he believes she will “do good” by the Department of Defence.
The foreign minister has pledged to increase defense spending to three percent of GDP by 2030 if she becomes prime minister.
When asked why he decided to support Ms Truss now, Mr Wallace said: “I thought I would distance myself at the start of this contest, I am the Secretary of State for Defence, I want to find a candidate who will do the department well and recognize that the threats we face on a daily basis are very real and growing and need to be properly funded.
“We can’t pretend they’re going to go away on their own. I’ve watched their performances, I’ve watched them at the hustings, but I also know them both, I’ve been in Cabinet for two years with both the Chancellor and indeed Liz Truss and so it was important for me to find out who i thought was the right person to help us move forward.
“I know Liz. She’s very honest, she’s authentic, what you see is what you get, but she’s also been very consistent in her support for defense and security. She reads the same intelligence reports as I do, so I felt it was the right person to support.”