Ben Wallace (politician)

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The Right Honourable
Ben Wallace
MP
Official portrait of Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP crop 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2020
Secretary of State for Defence
Assumed office
24 July 2019
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byPenny Mordaunt
Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime
In office
17 July 2016 – 24 July 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byJohn Hayes
Succeeded byBrandon Lewis
Minister of State for Northern Ireland
In office
12 May 2015 – 17 July 2016
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byAndrew Murrison
Succeeded byKris Hopkins
Member of Parliament
for Wyre and Preston North
Lancaster and Wyre (2005–2010)
Assumed office
5 May 2005
Preceded byHilton Dawson
Majority16,781 (31.7%)
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for North East Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office
6 May 1999 – 31 March 2003
Personal details
Born
Robert Ben Lobban Wallace

(1970-05-15) 15 May 1970 (age 51)
Farnborough, London, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)
Liza Cooke
​
(m. 2001)​
Children3
Residence(s)Lancashire
EducationMillfield School
Alma materRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst
OccupationPolitician
Websitebenwallace.org.uk
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
Years of service1991–1998
RankCaptain
UnitScots Guards
Battles/warsThe Troubles
AwardsMentioned in dispatches

Robert Ben Lobban Wallace (born 15 May 1970) is a British Conservative Party politician currently serving as Secretary of State for Defence since 24 July 2019 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Wyre and Preston North, formerly Lancaster and Wyre, since 2005.

Before becoming an MP, he was a Conservative list Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North East Scotland from 1999 to 2003.[1][2] He stood down in 2003 and moved to Lancashire as he sought selection for a Westminster constituency in England.[3][4] Following election as an MP and after serving as a backbencher for nearly five years, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Justice, Ken Clarke, from 2010 to 2014. Wallace was then made a whip from July 2014 to May 2015. Later, he became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Northern Ireland Office between 2015 to 2016. He was appointed Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime from 2016 to 2019. A supporter of Boris Johnson, Wallace was promoted to the senior cabinet role of Secretary of State for Defence, after Johnson became Prime Minister.

Before politics, he held the rank of captain in the Scots Guards, a regiment of the British Army.

Early life and career[edit]

Wallace was born on 15 May 1970 in Farnborough, London, England.[5] His father was a soldier in the 1st King's Dragoon Guards, and saw service in Malaya.[6]

He attended the independent school Millfield in Somerset.[7] After school, Wallace became a ski instructor with the Austrian National Ski School in the village of Alpbach in Austria.[8]

Wallace attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, before he was commissioned in 1991 into the Scots Guards.[4] From 1991 to 1998, he served in Germany, Cyprus, Belize, and Northern Ireland, rising to the rank of captain. During his time in Northern Ireland, he was mentioned in dispatches in 1992 for an incident in which the patrol he was commanding captured an entire IRA active service unit attempting to carry out a bomb attack against British troops.[2][9]

Political career[edit]

Scottish Parliament[edit]

Wallace entered politics after leaving the army, citing as a reason for this decision the experience he had commanding men from some of the UK's most economically deprived areas, which he averred could be improved by promoting a more aspirational society.[9] Wallace became a Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, as a list MSP for North East Scotland.[3][4] He stood down in 2003, as he sought selection for a Westminster constituency in England.[3][4] Wallace was the Scottish Conservatives' shadow health spokesman during that time.[4]

From 2003 to 2005 he was overseas director of the aerospace company QinetiQ, the UK's former Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).[7]

Member of UK Parliament[edit]

Wallace was elected as MP for the Lancaster and Wyre constituency in the 2005 general election. He won 22,266 votes with a majority of 4,171 (8.0%).[10] The seat had previously been held by the Labour Party's Hilton Dawson.[11] The constituency was abolished in 2010 and in the 2010 general election he was elected as MP in the new seat of Wyre and Preston North with 26,877 votes and a majority of 15,844 (30.9%).[12] Wallace was re-elected at the 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections.[13]

From 2005 to 2010 Wallace was a member of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee.[14] From 2006 to 2010 Wallace was the Shadow Minister of State for Scotland. He was Chairman of the British–Iran Parliamentary Group from 2006 to 2014. On 13 November 2008, Wallace was awarded Campaigner of the Year in the Spectator/Threadneedle Parliamentarian awards, for his work promoting transparency of MPs expenses.[15][16]

Wallace faced criticism locally after it was revealed he had the fourth highest expenses claim of any MP in the UK in 2008, claiming £175,523 on top of his £63,000 salary. However, he defended the costs by arguing that the constituency has an electorate that is nearly 20% larger than the average one in England.[17]

Junior ministerial roles[edit]

Following his re-election to Parliament in 2010, Wallace was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then-Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor, and later Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office, Ken Clarke MP.[citation needed] On 4 September 2012, Wallace turned down a position as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury during the cabinet reshuffle[citation needed] to remain Clarke's PPS.[18] He voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales.[19]

In July 2014, as Clarke returned to the back benches, Wallace was again offered a job in Government as a whip. This time he accepted. In May 2015 he was promoted to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Northern Ireland Office.

After the EU referendum, the new Prime Minister, Theresa May, promoted him to Minister of State for Security in the Home Office. In December 2017 the Ministerial portfolio was extended to include Economic Crime. He was the Security Minister during the terror attacks of 2017 and the Salisbury attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal. Wallace was appointed to the Privy Council for his role in coordinating the government response to the 2017 Westminster attack.[20]

Wallace supported the UK remaining within the European Union (EU) prior to the 2016 referendum.[21] He voted for then Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement in early 2019, and voted against any referendum on a Brexit withdrawal agreement.[22]

Secretary of State for Defence[edit]

Wallace (left) meeting with the United States Secretary of Defense Mark Esper at Horse Guards in September 2019
Wallace with US Ambassador to the United Kingdom Woody Johnson in September 2020

On 24 July 2019, Wallace was appointed Secretary of State for Defence by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, succeeding Penny Mordaunt.[23] In August 2019, he was overheard discussing Prime Minister Johnson's controversial prorogation with Florence Parly, the French Minister of Armies. Wallace suggested that the reason for the prorogation of parliament for five weeks was to prevent MPs from blocking the government's Brexit plans rather than the government's official position that it was to introduce new legislative agenda. The government responded to his comments by stating he had "misspoken".[24][25] This prorogation was later deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court on 24 September 2019.[26]

On 13 October 2019, Wallace defended Turkey's offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces in north-eastern Syria in a NATO meeting. He commented, "Turkey needs to do what it sometimes has to do to defend itself". His comments were condemned by other delegates at the meeting.[27][28]

On 12 January 2020, in an interview with The Sunday Times, Wallace said that the UK "must be prepared to fight wars without the US", one of the UK's key allies. He stated that the upcoming Defence Review "should be used to make the UK less dependent on the US in future conflicts". His comments were made in response to US President Donald Trump's America First isolationist policies. Wallace also said that the next Defence Review would be the "deepest review" of Britain's defence and foreign policies since the end of the Cold War in 1991.[29]

Wallace and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin at The Pentagon, 12 July 2021

Wallace said the US put Britain in a "very difficult position" following the withdrawal of most US troops from Afghanistan.[30] Soon after the withdrawal of US troops had started, the Taliban had launched an offensive against the Afghan government, quickly advancing in front of a collapsing Afghan Armed Forces.[31] Wallace said the UK would be ready to work with the Taliban should they come to power provided they adhere to certain international norms.[32]

On 16 August 2021, during an interview on LBC about the US Afghanistan withdrawal, Wallace was asked by an LBC interviewer, "Why do you feel it so personally, Mr Wallace?" He replied with emotion; "Because I'm a soldier... because it's sad, and the West has done what it's done and we have to do our very best to get people out and stand by our obligations".[33] On 26 August, Wallace was accused[by whom?] of abandoning Pen Farthing, who ran an animal sanctuary in Kabul and was seeking permission for a private jet to be given clearance by the Ministry of Defence to get 71 people and more than 100 animals to the UK.[34] The next day, he gave clearance for the $500,000 private plane to land at Kabul Airport.[35] Wallace said Ministry of Defence staff had suffered abuse from some of Farthing's supporters.[36]

In a phone call with Saudi Arabia's vice defence minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Wallace discussed ways to strengthen defence relations with Saudi Arabia, particularly military exports.[37] In December 2021, he met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss cooperation in various fields, especially defence.[38]

Upon the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War in 2022, Wallace declared Britain's determination to "stand up to bullies",[39] sparking a crescendo in "dialectic tension" vis-à-vis the relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina.[40] The Argentine government decried these declarations as "belligerent threats" and "denigrating references".[40]

On 11 February 2022, he met Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu.[41] On 12 February 2022, Wallace said that a Russian invasion of Ukraine was "highly likely", and British citizens were being told by the Foreign Office to evacuate while commercial means were still available.[42] Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, said Wallace's comparison of diplomatic efforts with Russia to the appeasement policies of the 1930s was unhelpful,[43] saying now is the wrong time to "offend our partners".[44] In February 2022, Wallace was filmed saying that the Scots Guards "kicked the backside" of Nicholas I of Russia in the Crimean War, and could do so again.[45]

Personal life[edit]

He married Liza Cooke in 2001 and they have three children.[46] His wife worked as a part-time parliamentary assistant in his office until 30 April 2019.[47] They met when she was a researcher in the Scottish Parliament and Wallace was a MSP.[48] Wallace lives in Lancashire, and in London.[49][50]

Honours[edit]

General Service Medal 1962 BAR.svg General Service Medal Northern Ireland Clasp Mentioned in Despatches
QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.png Diamond Jubilee Medal
EST Cross of Merit of the Ministry of Defence.png Cross of Merit of the Ministry of Defence (Class I), (Estonia)[51]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "New defence secretary Ben Wallace has defended Stracathro Hospital and fox hunting". The Courier. The Courier. 26 April 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b Sabbagh, Dan (8 September 2019). "Defence secretary under fire for appearing to condone torture". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Ben Wallace: Captain Fantastic heads south of the border". The Scotsman. 26 March 2002. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Farewell to the parliament". BBC News. 2 April 2003. Archived from the original on 25 June 2004. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  5. ^ Thomson, Alice; Sylvester, Rachel (9 June 2018). "Ben Wallace: we don't set out to kill terrorists". The Times. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  6. ^ "The Right Honourable Ben Wallace MP formerly Scots Guards Secretary of State for Defence In conversation with The Editor". The Guards Magazine. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Ben Wallace: Electoral history and profile". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 September 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  8. ^ "Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime – The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  9. ^ a b "The Ben Wallace One". BBC. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Result: Lancaster & Wyre". BBC News. 6 May 2005. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Mr Hilton Dawson". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Wyre and Preston North". UK Polling Report. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Wyre & Preston North". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Mr Ben Wallace MP – UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. 20 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  15. ^ "Matthew d'Ancona's Parliamentarian awards speech". Spectator.co.uk. 13 November 2008. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  16. ^ Andrew Gimson (13 November 2008). "Sketch: George Osborne laughs it off". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  17. ^ "MP's biscuit claim among expenses". The Garstang Courier. The Garstang Courier. 1 April 2008. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Cameron: Man or mouse? Man – and butcher! The Tory Diary". Conservativehome.blogs.com. 6 September 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  19. ^ "MP-by-MP: Gay marriage vote". BBC News. 5 February 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  20. ^ Agerholm, Harriet (24 March 2017). "MPs Tobias Ellwood and Ben Wallace appointed to Privy Council in honour of Westminster response". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  21. ^ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  22. ^ "How MPs voted on May's withdrawal deal defeat". Financial Times. 29 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019.
  23. ^ "Ben Wallace Named New Defence Secretary". Forces Network. 25 July 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  24. ^ "Defence Secretary Ben Wallace overheard discussing Parliament suspension". BBC News. 29 August 2019. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  25. ^ Sheridan, Danielle (29 August 2019). "Defence Secretary caught on camera suggesting Boris Johnson prorogued Parliament because he has 'no majority'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  26. ^ "Supreme Court: Suspending Parliament was unlawful, judges rule". BBC News. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  27. ^ Nicholls, Dominic; Crisp, James (14 October 2019). "Britain accused of putting trade deals before condemnation of Turkey". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  28. ^ Fisher, Lucy (15 October 2019). "Defence secretary Ben Wallace's support for Turkey surprises Nato". The Times. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  29. ^ "Ben Wallace: UK 'must be prepared to fight wars without US'". BBC News. 12 January 2020. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Johnson confirms most British troops have left Afghanistan". Politico. Associated Press. 8 July 2021. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  31. ^ Robertson, Nic (24 June 2021). "Afghanistan is disintegrating fast as Biden's troop withdrawal continues". CNN. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  32. ^ "British Defence Minister says UK will work with Taliban should they come to power - Telegraph". Reuters. 14 July 2021. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  33. ^ Rogers, Alexandra (16 August 2021). "'Some People Won't Get Back' – UK Defence Secretary Breaks Down Over Afghanistan Crisis". HuffPost UK. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  34. ^ "Marine stuck in Afghanistan says rescue plane for his team 'not coming'". ITV News. 23 August 2021. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  35. ^ "Ex-Royal Marine Pen Farthing given go-ahead to leave Afghanistan with animals". ITV News. 25 August 2021. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  36. ^ "Afghanistan: Pen Farthing sorry for foul-mouthed message to aide". BBC News. 30 August 2021. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  37. ^ "Britain keen to strengthen defence relations with Saudi Arabia - SPA". Reuters. 8 July 2020.
  38. ^ "Saudi crown prince meets British defense secretary". Arab News. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  39. ^ Yorke, Harry (9 January 2022). "Britain will 'stand up to bullies', declares Ben Wallace as he marks Falklands War anniversary". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  40. ^ a b "Felipe González, Aznar, Zapatero y Rajoy piden a Reino Unido que dialogue con Argentina para resolver la disputa por Malvinas". eldiario.es. 14 January 2022.
  41. ^ "UK urges Russian action to back up denial it plans to invade Ukraine". Reuters. 11 February 2022.
  42. ^ Wheeler, Caroline; Brown, Larisa (12 February 2022). "Ukraine crisis: 'Whiff of Munich' warning from Ben Wallace". The Times.
  43. ^ "Ukraine tensions: US defends evacuating embassy as Zelensky urges calm". BBC News. 13 February 2022.
  44. ^ Blewett, Sam (13 February 2022). "Ukraine criticises Ben Wallace's appeasement comparison with diplomacy efforts". The Independent.
  45. ^ "Putin has gone 'full tonto' over actions in Ukraine - Ben Wallace". BBC News. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  46. ^ Wallace, Rt Hon. (Robert) Ben (Lobban). UK Who's Who. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U38694. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  47. ^ "Register of Members' Financial Interests" (PDF). parliament.uk. p. 460. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  48. ^ "Outrage at ban threat on MP family workers". Lancashire Post. 1 February 2008. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  49. ^ "About Ben". Personal website. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  50. ^ "IPSA record". IPSA. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  51. ^ https://adr.rik.ee/kmin/fail/11731182/subfile/0

External links[edit]

News articles
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Lancaster and Wyre
2005–2010 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Wyre and Preston North
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
2015–2016 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime
2016–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for Defence
2019–present 		Incumbent
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