Defence secretary Ben Wallace says he'll stand down as an MP on the subsequent election.

Mr Wallace, the longest-serving Conservative to move the Ministry of Defence, stated in an interview with The Times: "I'm not standing next time."

He added that he won't pressure a by-election by resigning "prematurely" - as fellow allies of Boris Johnson have done.

Mr Wallace additionally confirmed he would depart the cupboard on the subsequent reshuffle, which is predicted to be held this autumn.

Sky News reported that he was considering the move on Saturday.

"I went into politics in the Scottish parliament in 1999. That's 24 years. I've spent well over seven years with three phones by my bed," he advised The Times.

When requested what the units have been for, he replied: "Secret, secret and secret."

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It comes following controversy final week when the defence secretary advised a NATO summit press convention that the UK was not an "Amazon" delivery service for weapons to Ukraine.

He additionally stated Kyiv may be smart to let its supporters "see gratitude".

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later pushed again in opposition to the feedback, saying Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had "expressed his gratitude for what we've done on a number of occasions".

Mr Zelenskyy, talking on the similar occasion in Lithuania, additionally responded: "I believe that we were always grateful to the UK."

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Speculation concerning the defence secretary's destiny has been mounting for weeks, with officers contained in the Ministry of Defence questioning who may substitute him.

It additionally comes following a failed UK bid to make Mr Wallace the next head of NATO.

The 53-year-old final month dominated himself out of the race to switch Jens Stoltenberg after apparently failing to get the backing of the US.

Mr Wallace was as soon as tipped as a possible candidate for Tory chief and prime minister.

But he ruled himself out of the race to replace Boris Johnson last summer and as an alternative backed eventual winner Liz Truss.

He then stated he would not stand in the contest to replace her and revealed he was "leaning towards" backing a return by Mr Johnson to the put up.

Mr Wallace had been going through the prospect of successfully shedding his constituency of Wyre and Preston North on the subsequent basic election below boundary adjustments - that means he would have wanted to face in one other seat to stay as an MP.