Wallace fighting for survival in reshuffle
Defence Secretary believed to be in the line of fire as Johnson purges Cabinet
BEN WALLACE was last night fighting for his job as Defence Secretary as Boris Johnson prepared to reshuffle his Cabinet today.
Mr Wallace, who had clashed with Downing Street over defence spending and Huawei, cast doubt on his own future yesterday. Asked if he would get the sack, he replied, “Who knows?”
It emerged that Mr Wallace had cancelled plans to attend an international security conference in Munich tomorrow, and that Anne-marie Trevelyan, his deputy, would be promoted today as part of a shake-up at the ministry.
Meanwhile, government sources last night disclosed that Alok Sharma, the International Development Secretary, would be promoted to a bigger department, as Mr Johnson prepared to fold the Department for International Development into the Foreign Office.
Oliver Dowden, the Paymaster General, was also to be promoted into a full Cabinet role, tipped to replace Baroness Morgan, the Culture Secretary, or possibly become Defence Secretary.
Back-bench MPS Suella Braverman and Gillian Keegan were also among those in line for promotion.
Insiders said last night that Mr Johnson would not reduce the number of women in full Cabinet roles though there could be a reduction in the total number of women at Cabinet. He would, however, ensure half of all junior ministers – parliamentary secretaries of state – were women who could progress through the ranks to create a gender balance in Cabinet.
Mr Wallace, who was made Defence Secretary by Mr Johnson last July, told friends he believed his job was safe but yesterday admitted he couldn’t be sure. Asked if he was nervous about the reshuffle, he said: “I’m keen to serve, I enjoy the job as Defence Secretary, I’m a veteran, I’m a northern MP, I was actually in the Army. So I think all of those hopefully qualify me, but who knows?”
Mr Wallace was due at the security conference but the Government chose Andrew Murrison, the foreign office minister, to take his place. Alex Younger, head of MI6, also changed his plans and will not attend.
Senior Tories warned the Government against downgrading its presence at the global summit and pointed out the list of senior figures from ally countries attending, including Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state.
Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence select committee said: “Given Britain’s intention to play a much more influential role, we should not miss any opportunity to engage and lead debate at important international conferences.”
Asked why Mr Younger was not going, the Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “I am not going to comment on C’s travel plans.”
Ms Trevelyan, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, was promoted to her current role in December, having been brought into government as defence procurement minister last July.
She will be told about her promotion during a reshuffle that will start at 8am today when ministers being sacked will be asked to visit the Prime Minister’s office in Parliament, saving them the so-called “walk of shame” in Downing Street. Mr Johnson will then begin summoning ministers being promoted
to No 10 from 10am. The reshuffle is expected to be over by 3pm and completed by tonight, when junior ministers will be appointed.
Mr Wallace is in Brussels for a Nato summit and not due to return until after the reshuffle is over. Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson’s chief adviser, is reported to have urged the Prime Minister to sack the Defence Secretary.
Whitehall sources suggested it was unlikely he would be replaced with Ms Trevelyan if he lost his post, as she lacked experience. It was also unclear whether Mr Sharma would be replaced by another Cabinet-level minister or whether DFID would be downgraded to an “attending Cabinet” role, ahead of wider Whitehall reform later this year.
Lucy Frazer QC, the prisons minister, is tipped for a promotion to Cabinet, which would enable Mr Johnson to sack Andrea Leadsom, the Business Secretary, or Theresa Villiers, the Environment Secretary.
Ms Frazer could become Attorney General, replacing Geoffrey Cox, who made a public appeal to remain in his role, describing it as the “greatest honour of my professional life”. Mr Dowden, Mr Sharma, Ms Trevelyan and Ms Braverman all backed Mr Johnson during the Tory leadership race.
Jacob Rees-mogg, the Leader of the House of Commons, is expected to keep his job, and Stephen Barclay, the former Brexit secretary whose department was abolished on Jan 31, is tipped for a Cabinet return.
Meanwhile, a backlash was mounting among ministers who said Mr Johnson was so in thrall to Mr Cummings that MPS were unable to see him. One said: “Every time we go to see him Dominic appears.” Another said: “He is like Aung San Suu Kyi, he has been taken over by the military junta.” A third said: “There are some Cabinet ministers who have still not yet had one-to-one meetings with him. That is a problem.”