Ben Wallace ‘threatened to cancel Chinook deal with the US’ over soaring £2.3bn costs after White House ‘blocked’ his bid to become head of NATO

Ben Wallace threatened to cancel a Chinook deal with the US over soaring £2.3billion costs – after the White House apparently blocked his bid to become the next head of Nato.

The outgoing Defence Secretary is said to have told his American counterpart last month that he wanted to axe the agreement to supply 14 of the helicopters.  

But a source close to Mr Wallace insisted his opposition had nothing to do with Washington having thwarted his attempt to take charge of the military alliance.

They stressed he had tried to scrap the contract two years ago, with the bill now running £500million higher than originally expected.

The ex-Cabinet minister – who stood down this week and was replaced by Grant Shapps – argued that the UK already has the biggest ‘heavy lift’ fleet in Europe.

The source said it would be ‘bonkers’ to stick with the ‘overpriced’ deal rather than procuring ‘medium lift’ aircraft such as the Airbus A400M Atlas transporter. 

According to the Sunday Times, the US ambassador to the UK, Jane Hartley, wrote to No 10 on August 1 to get reassurances on the future of the agreement – which were provided.

Representations were also apparently made to Britain’s envoy in Washington, Karen Pierce. But on August 10 Mr Wallace reportedly wrote to US Secretary for Defence Lloyd Austin saying he was still considering whether to proceed with the deal. 

Outgoing Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is said to have told his American counterpart last month that he wanted to axe the agreement to supply 14 of the military helicopters

No final decisions are thought to have been taken on the helicopter deal, although the first Chinooks have been mooted for delivery in 2026. PIctured, a Chinook during a training exercise earlier this year

A source close to Mr Wallace insisted his opposition had nothing to do with Joe Biden having thwarted his attempt to take charge of the military alliance

A government source told the newspaper: ‘It seemed like he was trying to piss off the Americans. That is certainly how some have read it.’ 

No final decisions are thought to have been taken on the helicopter deal, although the first Chinooks have been mooted for delivery in 2026.

Whether to go ahead is being seen as one of the first big decisions for new Defence Secretary Grant Shapps. A number of MPs are set to push for investment in the medium lift airframes, which can be built in the UK.

Mr Sunak was personally involved in lobbying Joe Biden about the Nato vacancy earlier this year.

In the end, Mr Wallace’s ambition was thwarted by opposition from the White House and France – who were adamant the next chief should come from an EU state.

There was also pressure to choose a woman and a politician who had held a more senior position in a government.  

Shortly afterwards Mr Wallace declared he will leave the Commons at the next election, having been embroiled in a row over suggesting Ukraine should show more ‘gratitude’ for Nato support. 

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘There has been no change to the UK’s future Heavy Lift Helicopter portfolio.

‘We keep all capability requirements under review to ensure we have a balanced and affordable portfolio which best meets our needs.

‘The US is one of the UK’s closest allies and our defence and intelligence partnership is, and will always be, one of the strongest in the world.’

Whether to go ahead is being seen as one of the first big decisions for new Defence Secretary Grant Shapps

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