Ben Wallace ‘leaning towards Boris Johnson’ after ruling himself out of Tory leadership race

Defence secretary Ben Wallace has ruled himself out of standing for the Conservative Party leadership, and says he is “leaning” towards Boris Johnson.

Mr Wallace is widely respected across the parliamentary party for his record over Ukraine and was viewed as a possible “unity candidate” to prevent a divisive contest.

But speaking to Sky News, he said he believed he can provide the “best value” to the British people by remaining at the helm of the Ministry of Defence.