Ben Wallace is believed to be mulling leaving Government in the autumn after four years as Defence Secretary.

The MP for Wyre and Preston North, who was a close ally of Boris Johnson, is weighing up whether to exit politics entirely, according to The Times.

Mr Wallace still supports Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Government with the departure not related to the Conservative Party’s current challenges, the paper reported.

He had shown an interest in standing for the role of NATO secretary-general before current chief, Jens Stoltenberg, was given another year in charge.

A source told Sky News Mr Wallace would likely make a decision in August on whether he wanted to stay or go.

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Speculation over Mr Wallace’s future in politics has growing in recent weeks with Ministry of Defence officials reportedly wondering who his replacement could be.

The Times suggested Salisbury MP and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, is the frontrunner.

Former International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, security minister Tom Tugendhat and Jeremy Quinn, a former defence minister, have also been tipped as possible replacements.

Mr Wallace is the longest, continuously-serving minister in government and hugely popular among the Tory grassroots.

He is also known for plain speaking, using sometimes colourful language.

At the NATO summit in Vilnius this week he told journalists he had told Ukraine the UK was not an Amazon-style delivery service for weapons and people “want to see gratitude”.

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Mr Wallace uttered the remark after Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelensky branded it “absurd” for NATO to insist there were still conditions for his nation to meet before it can gain membership of the military alliance once the war with Russia is over.

Mr Zelensky later said: “I believe that we were always grateful to United Kingdom. I don’t know what he meant and how else we should be grateful.”

Last year, Mr Wallace ruled himself out of the running for the Conservative leadership, despite being an early frontrunner in the race to replace Mr Johnson.

He served as security minister under Theresa May before being promoted to Defence Secretary by Mr Johnson and continuing the role under Liz Truss and Mr Sunak.

Mr Wallace has spent much of his period in office fighting for extra funding for the Armed Forces amid growing threats and after years of cuts.

He has also been a leading voice pushing Britain and its allies to do more to support Ukraine.

An MP since 2005, at the 2019 General Election, Mr Wallace retained his seat with a 16,781 majority, almost 60 per cent of the vote.

Mr Wallace has been approached for comment.

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