London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

Ben Wallace slaps down minister Johnny Mercer in army cash row

Ben Wallace slaps down minister Johnny Mercer in army cash row

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has dismissed criticism from veterans' minister Johnny Mercer of his efforts to secure more armed forces funding.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace meeting Ukrainian soldiers being trained at a British Army base in Dorset

Contrasting their responsibilities, he said Mr Mercer was a "junior minister" who "doesn't have to run the budget".

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

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

Both men are former army officers. Mr Wallace is a full cabinet member, while Mr Mercer is a lower-ranking minister, with a lower salary, who attends cabinet meetings when needed.

The veterans' affairs job is a position within the Cabinet Office, having previously been part of the Ministry of Defence.

During a debate in the Commons last month, Mr Wallace said: "We have been hollowed out and underfunded".


'Lobbying effort'


Days later, in what was widely seen as being a message directed at the chancellor ahead of the Budget, he told a news conference in Portsmouth a "growing proportion" of government spending would need to be devoted to keeping the country safe.

Veterans' Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer attends cabinet meetings


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

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

"The facts are that when I came into politics [he became an MP in 2015], defence spending was around £38bn per year - it is just shy of £50bn a year now.

"It is obviously not credible to say that the money has been taken out of defence."

Responding on LBC on Thursday, Mr Wallace said: "Johnny is a junior minister, and Johnny luckily doesn't have to run the budget.

"I have a defence budget that has to deal, like all the other budgets, with inflation, with changes to threat, and I have to just deal with that. And that's my job."

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

"I run a department of 224,000 people", while "he's got 12 people in the office."


'Daily battle'


This prompted Felicity Cornelius-Mercer to spring to her husband's defence, tweeting: "Wow. The disdain from @BWallaceMP for @JohnnyMercerUK and his office for veterans affairs really is something else.

"You may start to realise why care for veterans is such a daily battle."

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

Asked which of the two ministers best expressed the government's view on defence spending. the prime minister's spokesman said: "I think the defence secretary has made it clear on a number of occasions that defence spending turned a corner under this government due to the spending review in 2020.

"It provided an uplift of £24 billion over four years, and of course additional funding has also been provided for Ukraine."

Future defence spending was a "live issue" ahead of next month's Budget, the spokesman added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×