Don't underestimate me as Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps says
New Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has hit back at criticism over his appointment, telling people not to underestimate him in the role.
His succession of Ben Wallace, a former Army officer, has led some to question the depth of his military knowledge, in response to which Mr Shapps told LBC: "Only two of the last 15 defence secretaries have come from the military.
"It's actually highly unusual. We have a civilian government and rightly we put civilians in charge of it. I think that the Ministry of Defence will benefit from having a hugely experienced secretary of state."
Mr Shapps indicated he would push for a higher defence budget.
"I have run complex infrastructure-heavy departments in the past and I will, of course, as Secretary of State be fighting the corner,” he said.
"I've actually talked in the past about our need to increase our defence expenditure and I’m very pleased that our long-term aim is to raise it to 2.5% and we have been increasing the defence expenditure.
"So don't underestimate me when it comes to defending the country or the department."
Mr Shapps was appointed Defence Secretary in Rishi Sunak's mini-reshuffle prompted by Mr Wallace's formal resignation.
Mr Wallace was the Conservatives' longest-serving defence secretary, being in the role for four years under three prime ministers.
Mr Shapps has never held a role in the MOD before, but is taking on his fifth role in the Cabinet in the last year by becoming its Secretary of State.
Asked if he would be as vocal as his predecessor, he replied: "Well, I’ll do it in my own way."
Former Chief of the General Staff Lord Dannatt had said Mr Shapps knew "very little about defence", adding it would take him "quite some time to get up to speed".
The crossbench peer told Sky News that Mr Wallace had done a good job, but had left the post with "work in progress".
"I think there is a risk that certainly the debate on resources for defence stagnates, at least until Grant Shapps can get his head around his portfolio," Lord Dannatt said.
Shadow defence secretary John Healey congratulated Mr Shapps on his appointment, but hit out at "13 years of Tory defence failures", arguing that a change at the top "will not change this record".
The Liberal Democrats accused the Prime Minister of appointing a "yes-man" to the key role, calling for an end to the ministerial "merry-go-round" under the Tories.
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