Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says he will stand down as an MP at the next election.
Wallace, the longest serving Conservative Ministry of Defensehe said in an interview with The Times: “I won’t be standing next time.”
He added that he will not force a by-election by resigning “prematurely”. as have Boris Johnson’s fellow allies.
Wallace also confirmed that he would leave the cabinet in the next reshuffle, which is expected to take place this autumn.
Sky News reported that he was considering moving on Saturday.
“I entered politics in the Scottish Parliament in 1999. That’s 24 years. I’ve spent more than seven years with three phones next to my bed,” he told The Times.
When asked what the devices were for, he replied, “Secret, secret, secret.”
Read more:
The latest war between Ukraine and Russia: Wagner’s troops cross the border into Belarus, says Kiev
It comes after controversy last week when the defense secretary said this at a NATO summit press conference the UK was not an “Amazon” arms delivery service in Ukraine
He also said Kiev might be wise to let its supporters “see gratitude.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later pushed back against the comments, saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had “expressed his appreciation for what we have done on several occasions.”
Mr Zelenskyy, speaking at the same event in Lithuania, also replied: “I think we were always grateful to the UK.”
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
“President Zelenskyy has expressed his gratitude” to the UK, says Rishi Sunak.
Speculation about the defense secretary’s fate has been mounting for weeks, with Defense Department officials wondering who might replace him.
It also comes following a Britain’s failed bid to make Mr Wallace the next head of NATO.
Last month, the 53-year-old ruled himself out of the race to replace Jens Stoltenberg after apparently failing to win US support.
Wallace was once proposed as a potential candidate for Conservative leader and prime minister.
But he he ruled himself out of the race to replace Boris Johnson last summer and instead supported eventual winner Liz Truss.
Then he said would not participate in the competition to replace her and revealed he was “leaning towards” supporting a return of Mr Johnson to office.
