Former UK defense secretary Wallace tried to cancel Helicopter deal with US

Former UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace threatened to revoke a contract on supplies of Chinook helicopters from the United States a few weeks before leaving office, UK media reported, citing sources.

Under the contract, the United Kingdom will receive 14 Chinook H-47 helicopters produced by US company Boeing, with the first one of them expected to be supplied in 2026, the report said on Saturday.

During internal discussions over recent weeks, Wallace proposed to cancel the deal as part of the ministry's plan to cut spending, the paper reported, citing unnamed UK officials. It added that in early August the defense secretary had sent a letter to his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, hinting that the contract could be canceled.

Wallace could be seeking the cancellation of the contract over the helicopters' costs, but also due to his anger over US's refusal to support his candidacy for the post of the NATO secretary general, the newspaper said.

On August 31, Wallace sent a resignation letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after four years in office. Later that day, Sunak's office said that Grant Shapps, who had served as the energy secretary of the country, was appointed as the new defense secretary.