Grant Shapps, who previously served as Minister for Energy and Carbon Neutrality, has been appointed as the new UK Defense Secretary.
This was reported on the UK government website.
British television channels previously reported about this possible appointment.
The British government said the king was pleased to approve Shapps’ appointment as defense minister.
Shapps, who had previously arrived at the Prime Minister’s Office at 10 Downing Street, left it accompanied by the head of the Defense Staff of the Armed Forces, Tony Radakin, who had urgently returned to London from vacation.
What policy will Shapps pursue?
In a statement on social network X, the new British Defense Minister said that he would continue the line of his predecessor Ben Wallace to support Ukraine.
I look forward to working with the men and women of our Armed Forces who defend national security, as well as continuing to support Ukraine in its confrontation with Russia,” wrote the head of the British defense department.
He noted that he considered the appointment an honor and expressed gratitude to Wallace for his enormous contribution to the country’s defense and global security.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson congratulated Shapps on his appointment, noting that the current head of government, Rishi Sunak, managed to select a worthy candidate.
The portfolio of defense minister was the fifth for Shapps, 54. Since 2019, he has held the posts of Minister of Transport (in 2019-2022), Minister of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (in 2022-2023) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (he held the position for a week when Liz Truss was Prime Minister) .
Observers of the British television channel Sky News note that Shapps’s main advantages in the eyes of Sunak are personal loyalty and excellent communication skills with the press.
In the positions that Shapps previously held, he did not have to deal closely with defense and foreign policy issues.
According to Sky News political commentator Sam Coates, the new minister is likely to be less aggressive in pushing for funding for his department than Wallace, and will not be as straightforward in his rhetoric.
Wallace’s recent statement that the West wants to see more gratitude from Ukraine has drawn criticism against him.
Last week, Shapps visited Kyiv, met with the head of the country’s Ministry of Energy, German Galushchenko, after which he posted a short video about his visit on the social network X. In the video, Shapps said that Great Britain is proud of the assistance it provides to Ukraine in the conflict with Russia.
In February it became known that shortly after the start of the Russian special operation, Shapps hosted a family of refugees from Ukraine at his home in Hertfordshire. The family has been living with Shapps for more than a year.
As head of the Ministry of Transport, Shapps was responsible for the arrests of yachts and aircraft of Russian citizens after the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions.
In March last year, Shapps gave an interview against the backdrop of the arrested yacht of Russian businessman Sergei Naumenko, who is not on the sanctions list and is trying to challenge the decision of the British Ministry of Transport.
Shapps himself stated that Great Britain is sending a strong warning to the leadership of the Russian Federation and will continue to take the toughest measures against Russia.
