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.
Candidates in the race to succeed Liz Truss as party leader and prime minister have until Monday to collect 100 MPs’ nominations to get onto the ballot paper.
None have yet formally announced their candidacy, but it is believed that alongside Mr Johnson, former chancellor Rishi Sunak, leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt and former home secretary Suella Braverman are considering throwing their hats into the ring.
Mr Wallace said: “You really have to want it as a prime minister – To do that job, you have to really, really think it is the job for you.
“For me, I feel that I can have the best value in keeping people safe at defence, by being the defence secretary.
“It’s the job that I have been doing and it’s the job I intend to stay doing, so I am not going to be standing for prime minister this time.”
Mr Wallace said he would back a candidate who recognises the UK’s “pressing security concerns” and will invest in the military.
But he said it was also important to recognise that the public will be asking questions about the legitimacy and mandate of the individual chosen to be the third PM since the 2019 general election.
He said: “At the moment, I would lean towards Boris Johnson.”
Mr Wallace said that the former PM still has “questions to answer” over the investigation into whether he misled parliament over Partygate, but had a “track record of investing in defence”.
