NEWS STORY : Grant Shapps Becomes Defence Secretary

STORY

Grant Shapps has been appointed as the new Defence Secretary, replacing Ben Wallace who announced he was standing down from his role and from Parliament at the next General Election. Claire Coutinho, who was the Minister for Children, will take Shapps’s role of the Secretary of State for Energy Security.

Shapps said in a statement:

“I’m honoured to be appointed as Defence Secretary by Rishi Sunak. I’d like to pay tribute to the enormous contribution Ben Wallace has made to UK defence & global security over the last 4 years. As I get to work at DefenceHQ I am looking forward to working with the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who defend our nation’s security. And continuing the UK’s support for Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s barbaric invasion.”

John Healey, the Shadow Home Secretary, said:

“I congratulate Grant Shapps today. The first duty of any government is to keep our country safe & I will always work with the new Defence Secretary on this basis, especially on Ukraine. But after 13 years of Tory defence failures, a change at the top will not change this record.”