London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 01, 2025

UK defence secretary cuts short holiday as Ukraine crisis deepens

UK defence secretary cuts short holiday as Ukraine crisis deepens

Ben Wallace to return early from abroad owing to concerns about possible imminent Russian invasion
Ben Wallace, the UK defence secretary, has cut short a half-term holiday overseas with his family after one day because of concerns about a possible imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Wallace had been in continental Europe with his wife and children after talks in Moscow on Friday, but will return, he announced in a tweet.

“Having returned from Moscow early on Saturday morning and because we are concerned about the worsening situation in Ukraine I have cancelled a planned long weekend abroad with my family and will be returning,” he said.

A senior defence source said Wallace had been on the trip, at an undisclosed location, but was heading back to the UK. They said: “As events worsen the secretary of state has cut short a planned long weekend with his children for half-term.”

Wallace’s discussions last week with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, appeared to deliver little, with Shoigu describing levels of cooperation with Britain as “close to zero” and criticising the UK’s supply of arms to Ukraine.

Their talks came a day after a similarly frosty encounter in Moscow between Liz Truss, the UK foreign secretary, and Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who characterised the pair’s talks as a discussion of the “mute with the deaf”.

The idea of ministerial holidays amid international crises is a particularly sensitive one in Boris Johnson’s government after intense criticism of the then foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, for remaining on a family holiday in Crete in August while the Afghan government collapsed.

Raab declined to be contacted about some government business while on holiday, sources said, and handed over decisions to a junior minister in the days leading up to the Taliban’s takeover.

Raab said he had stayed in touch with decisions at all times, but did accept he told another minister to make a call to assist in the evacuation of former British military translators. He resisted calls to quit, but was demoted to justice secretary in a reshuffle the next month, while keeping his largely courtesy title of deputy prime minister.

In December, a Foreign Office whistleblower provided a statement to MPs describing what he said were chaotic scenes in London even after Raab returned, saying he took “hours to engage” with critical evacuation cases, before requesting the files be submitted in a different spreadsheet format.

Allies of Wallace also sought to clarify his controversial comments on Sunday afternoon, in which he compared the west’s talks with Russia to the Munich agreement, the attempts at diplomacy that failed to stymie the second world war.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Wallace said: “It may be that he [Putin] just switches off his tanks and we all go home but there is a whiff of Munich in the air from some in the west.”

The Wallace allies emphasised that the significant word in his remarks was the initial “if” – meaning that the comparison to the failed appeasement of 1938 applied only if Vladimir Putin was negotiating in bad faith and always intended to invade Ukraine.

Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, had earlier complained that the alarms being sounded by the west risked playing into Putin’s hands. “It’s not the best time for us to offend our partners in the world, reminding them of this act which actually not bought peace but the opposite, it bought war,” the diplomat told the BBC.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
×