Truss is 'authentic', understands 'threats' UK is facing, says Wallace on backing her

Ben Wallace, the UK defence secretary, has said that he supports Liz Truss in the campaign for the Tory party leadership because she understands the importance of “funded properly” for the “threats we face every day”.Ben Wallace informed Sky News that he had made the decision to support Truss at the outset of the election after deciding to “stand back” and observe their performances during hustings events.

As reported by The Guardian, Wallace said, “I am the Secretary of State for Defence, I want to find a candidate that’s going to do right by the department and recognise that the threats we face every day are very real and are growing and that they need to be funded properly. We can’t just sort of be pretending they will go away by themselves. So you know, I looked at their performances.”

“I looked at them on the hustings, but I also know them both. I’ve been in Cabinet for two years with both the Chancellor and indeed Liz Truss. And so, you know, it was important for me to work out who was the right person to take us forward. So, you know, I know Liz, she’s very straight. She’s authentic, what you see is what you get, but also she has been very consistent in her support for defence and security. She reads the same intelligence reports I do. I felt it was the right person to back,”he added.

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British Conservative candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, who are engaged in a contentious race to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson, had their first grilling in front of party members on Thursday. The first of 12 nationwide meetings to elect a new leader after a cabinet revolt forced scandal-plagued Johnson to resign was the hustings in Leeds, northern England. The outcome will be announced on September 5, and Truss has consolidated a commanding lead among Conservative members after promising quick tax cuts in response to Britain’s declining living standards.

(with inputs from agencies)