Ben Wallace slaps down minister Johnny Mercer in army cash row

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has dismissed disapproval from veterans' curate Johnny Mercer of his efforts to unafraid much equipped forces funding.

Contrasting their responsibilities, helium said Mr Mercer was a "junior minister" who "doesn't person to tally the budget".

Mr Mercer has claimed it is "not credible" for Mr Wallace to accidental the UK subject has been "hollowed out".

His wife, Felicity Cornelius-Mercer, accused the defence caput of treating her hubby with "disdain".

Both men are erstwhile service officers. Mr Wallace is simply a afloat furniture member, portion Mr Mercer is simply a inferior curate who has a little wage and attends furniture meetings erstwhile needed.

The veterans' affairs occupation is simply a presumption wrong the Cabinet Office, having antecedently been portion of the Ministry of Defence.

During a statement successful the Commons past month, Mr Wallace said: "We person been hollowed retired and underfunded".

Days later, successful what was wide seen arsenic being a connection directed astatine the chancellor up of the Budget, helium told a quality league successful Portsmouth a "growing proportion" of authorities spending would request to beryllium devoted to keeping the state safe.

The defence secretary's comments came against a backdrop of UK efforts to assistance Ukraine repel invading Russian troops and rising planetary tensions with China.

But connected Wednesday, Mr Mercer told LBC radio: "Ben is engaged successful a lobbying effort for his department, arsenic you would expect him to be.

"The facts are that erstwhile I came into authorities [he became an MP successful 2015], defence spending was astir £38bn per twelvemonth - it is conscionable shy of £50bn a twelvemonth now.

"It is evidently not credible to accidental that the wealth has been taken retired of defence."

Responding connected LBC connected Thursday, Mr Wallace said: "Johnny is simply a inferior minister, and Johnny luckily doesn't person to tally the budget.

"I person a defence fund that has to deal, similar each the different budgets, with inflation, with changes to threat, and I person to conscionable woody with that. And that's my job."

Asked if Mr Mercer was being naive, Mr Wallace said: "No, no, no. I conscionable think, you know, his acquisition is not... he's not the caput of state.

"I tally a section of 224,000 people", portion "he's got 12 radical successful the office."

"You whitethorn commencement to realise wherefore attraction for veterans is specified a regular battle."

Downing Street said some the Ministry of Defence and the Office for Veterans' Affairs did "vitally important enactment to enactment the UK".

Asked which of the 2 ministers champion expressed the government's presumption connected defence spending. the premier minister's spokesperson said: "I deliberation the defence caput has made it wide connected a fig of occasions that defence spending turned a country nether this authorities owed to the spending reappraisal successful 2020.

"It provided an uplift of £24 cardinal implicit 4 years, and of people further backing has besides been provided for Ukraine."

Future defence spending was a "live issue" up of adjacent month's Budget, the spokesperson added.