The Prime Minister promoted his ally after the formal resignation of Ben Wallace.
Grant Shapps has been promoted to Defence Secretary as Rishi Sunak handed him his fifth Cabinet role in a year in a mini-reshuffle prompted by Ben Wallace’s resignation.
But, having never held a role at the Ministry of Defence, his credentials to take on the role during a major war in Europe were questioned. Former armed forces minister Mark Francois, a member of the Commons Defence Committee, said it will be an “incredibly tough act to follow” for Mr Shapps. The war in Ukraine had been a prominent feature of Mr Shapps’ tenure as energy secretary, as he sought to mitigate the effects on fossil fuel availability.
Mr Sunak first appointed him to the role of business secretary on his entrance to No 10. Mr Shapps served as Liz Truss’s home secretary for six days and Boris Johnson’s transport secretary until September.Friends of the Earth said: “He seemed to be more concerned with playing childish politics on social media than the serious policies needed to address the greatest challenge of our time.
Mr Sunak praised Mr Wallace, who was a captain in the Scots Guards before entering politics, for having “served our country with distinction”.
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