Ben Wallace won't say if he'll run for Tory leadership after Boris Johnson quits

Ben Wallace declined to say whether he will run for Conservative Party leadership, insisting he will continue to focus on his job as Defense Secretary.

Mr. Wallace, leading polls among Tory members to succeed Boris Johnson as leader after his resignation on Thursday, spoke during a visit to a training center for Ukrainian troops in northern England .

The Defense Secretary said he was confident that the political unrest in the UK had not led to a decrease in support for Ukraine, stressing that he had built a consensus between parties on the issue.

“I don't think there's a risk of that happening. Throughout this process, I have endeavored to build cross-party consensus on Ukraine. I have been very lucky to have the support of everyone in the SNP [Scottish National Party] and the Labor leader, Labor and the Liberal Democrats in our policy towards Ukraine.

" Not a week goes by that I don't contact them or talk to these parties. We also agreed that it is important to continue the efforts for Ukraine as it struggles to defend itself against its terrible invasion. illegal," he said.

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An ally of Mr. Wallace has pointed out that while the Defense Secretary visited Ukrainian troops in training, Liz Truss, considered one of his main rivals in the Conservative leadership, did not seize the moment. opportunity to confront Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the invasion at a G20 meeting.

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