Defence Secretary shares rumours of imminent Cabinet reshuffle
The Defence Secretary has said he has heard rumours a Cabinet reshuffle could be imminent.
When asked, at the Future of Britain conference, if he was still in charge of defence, Ben Wallace said: "Today."
"There is a rumour that there is a reshuffle tomorrow or the day after," he added.
Pushed on the reshuffle suggestion later in a conversation with broadcaster Jon Sopel, Mr Wallace added: "It depends who you talk to at the top of Government.
"I spoke to one very senior member of the Civil Service who said it is definitely happening this week, I spoke to a very senior member of the Government, a minister, who said it is not going to happen this week.
"But it is going to happen, right? Either this week or the first week of September."
He said Rishi Sunak was "a bit surprised" to hear he would be quitting politics, but said the Prime Minister understood his reasons.
The senior Conservative politician suggested he had learned from Sir Tony Blair's exit from Downing Street when announcing his own decision to resign.
"There is a man over there that inspires me to go on your own terms," said Mr Wallace, gesturing to where the former prime minister was sitting in the audience.
It comes as the Government has published the Defence Command Paper Refresh (DCP23), setting out the future of the UK Armed Forces.
DCP23 outlines the investment in stockpiles of kit and a Global Response Force, to keep the UK "on track to act as a global heavyweight both now and in the future", according to the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The Defence Secretary said there are always "choices and trade-offs" after the Defence Command Paper Refresh (DCP23) was published by the Government.
"First and foremost, we have to make sure that we are properly bombed up, that our Armed Forces have the ammunition around," he said.
He also told Ben Wallace told Forces News "as the adversaries change, you have to change", with the DCP23 outlining plans to invest ÂŁ2.5bn to improve the UK military's warfighting readiness.
Mr Wallace previously said he had not thought about his legacy ahead of the publication CDP23.
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