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Shapps is a trusted pair of hands: No 10 defends selection for defence job | Politics | News
Grant Shapps confirmed as new Defence Secretary
Military top brass called on Grant Shapps to fight for extra spending after his shock appointment as Defence Secretary.
Rishi Sunak appointed his close ally to the key role after Ben Wallace quit the post as expected ahead of stepping down as an MP at the next election.
Mr Shapps is one of the government’s most experienced ministers and has held five Cabinet posts in the last year, but does not have a military background.
He paid tribute to Mr Wallace for his “enormous contribution” and vowed to continue the UK’s support for Ukraine in its “fight against Putin’s barbaric invasion”.
A Downing Street source said the defence role has been done “very successfully” before by ministers who do not come from a military background, most notably by Labour’s Lord Robertson who went on to become Nato secretary general.
Sunak defends Grant Shapps job role (Image: Getty)
“Grant has held a number of Cabinet positions and has a huge wealth of experience. The role requires a good communicator as the stakes are very high.”
A source close to the new Defence Secretary said he would continue Mr Wallace’s “great work” modernising the armed forces.
The insider added: “Grant is a very experienced Secretary of State, has been a member of the National Security Council from his previous roles. While in government, he has overseen government responses to crises including Ukraine, Afghanistan and pandemic and is a very capable and trusted pair of hands.”
No 10 will hope Mr Shapps’ appointment will cool tensions over spending after tensions with Mr Wallace over demands to boost Ministry of Defence coffers.
Lord Dannatt, former chief of the general staff of the British Army, said Mr Shapps knows “very little about defence” and it will take him “quite some time to get up to speed”.
Lord Dannatt urged Shapps to get up to speed (Image: Getty)
But he urged the new Defence Secretary to push for more investment in the Armed Forces.
“I think there is a risk that certainly the debate on resources for defence stagnates, at least until Grant Shapps can get his head around his portfolio,” he said.
“I think what the chief of defence staff and the single service chiefs will be hoping from the new Secretary of State for Defence is that he will listen to the concerns that they have within the wider context of the insecurity of the world.
“And although he may well have been appointed as someone who is going to support the Prime Minister and help the Conservative Party in its general election campaign, they will be hoping that he will really understand defence and push the case for defence, not just for the Ministry of Defence’s own benefit, but for the benefit of the whole country.
“Because there is a very strong case that we should be investing more in defence than we currently are. Ben Wallace knew that. Ben Wallace was arguing for it. Is that discussion going to continue? Or will Grant Shapps choose to go quietly?”
Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence select committee, dismissed concerns about Mr Shapps’ knowledge of military matters.
Former armed forces minister Mark Francois (Image: Getty)
“He’s a very competent and capable minister,” he said. “He understands the Whitehall machine. He’s actually one of the best communicators that is in the Cabinet at the moment.
“He sits on, or has sat on, the National Security Council as well. He’s a pilot, so very familiar with the air domain too and indeed was coincidentally in Ukraine, in Kyiv, last week talking about nuclear power and other aspects too, so very familiar with what’s going on. I don’t need to remind everybody that he will be surrounded by one of the most professional civil service machines in the world.”
Former armed forces minister Mark Francois, a member of the Commons Defence Committee, said it will be an “incredibly tough act to follow” for Mr Shapps.
“I think, to put it mildly, because it’s such a complex department, this is going to be a very steep learning curve for Grant Shapps,” the Tory MP told GB News.
“Grant Shapps is a bright bloke, but he’s going to have to come up with the speed very, very quickly.”
It is Mr Shapps’ fifth job in a year after having been business secretary, home secretary for six days under Liz Truss, transport secretary and energy security secretary.
Mr Sunak also gave a major promotion to another close ally, Claire Coutinho, who becomes the first MP elected in 2019 to make it to the Cabinet.
The former junior education minister replaces Mr Shapps as Energy Security Secretary. She was succeeded by Tory MP David Johnston in the Department for Education. Northern Conservative MPs were disgruntled that the promotions all went to southern MPs.
A source said: “It is a bit of a kick in the teeth that we have lost out most senior northern MPs from the Cabinet and all of the appointments came from the south.”
The MP also pointed out that a number of ministers who have announced they are quitting at the election remain in government, including Health Minister Will Quince and Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, despite no longer having “skin in the game”.
Martyn Brown – Daily Express Deputy Political Editor
Rishi Sunak’s surprise decision to appoint Grant Shapps as Defence Secretary has certainly raised a few eyebrows.
The Government veteran’s lack of military experience is being seen by some as a strategic blunder.
That remains to be seen.
But it has certainly strengthened his position as Prime Minister.
Despite losing such an outstanding Defence Secretary in Ben Wallace, the two never really saw eye to eye.
One is a military man who wanted more cash for the Armed Forces, the other a numbers man trying to balance the books as Chancellor and PM.
The Boris Johnson ally was also an inherited pick for Mr Sunak as he offered continuity in Britain’s leading role to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion. Mr Sunak also needed political unity in his first Cabinet following the tumultuous endings to Mr Johnson and Liz Truss’s premierships.
But Mr Wallace’s resignation gave him a chance to bolster his ranks with loyalists.
Mr Shapps backed Mr Sunak in both Conservative leadership contests last year while new Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho is one of the PM’s staunchest political allies.
When he made his five political pledges at the beginning of this year Mr Sunak had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve.
He was less clear whether Boris Johnson would try to mount a coup against his leadership.
The former PM has now left Parliament. So has his biggest cheerleader Nadine Dorries. Mr Wallace leaves at the next election and is no longer in Cabinet. The Prime Minister, rumoured to be planning a full reshuffle in the coming weeks, will no doubt use it to reward more loyal Sunakites.
His political position assured, Mr Sunak can now focus on getting the Tory machine ready for next year’s expected general election.
A 25-year-old medical graduate, Bhawana Yadav, from Rajasthan preparing for postgraduate medical studies in Delhi suffered severe burn injuries while she was in Hisar. After her mother was informed, she took her daughter to Jaipur, where the young doctor died during treatment on Thursday.
The circumstances surrounding her death are fuzzy as it is not clear how the student who was in Delhi for her weekly exam ended up in Hisar.
Gayatri Yadav, her mother, has filed a zero FIR in Jaipur. The same has been forwarded to Hisar Civil Lines Police station for further investigation.
Bhawana Yadav completed her medical studies from Philippines in 2023. She was preparing for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination, a medical licensing exam in India, compulsory for Indian citizens and OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cardholders who obtained their MBBS degree abroad.
According to the mother’s complaint, the 25-year-old was attending online classes and travelling to Delhi weekly for tests. On April 21, she was in Delhi for an exam. In Delhi, Bhawana used to stay with her sister, who is preparing for the Civil Services Exam. On April 21 and 22, Bhawana stayed with her sister and appeared for her exams. On April 23, Bhawana called her mother to say she would return by 24th morning, but never did.
On April 24, a man named Umesh Yadav called the medical graduate’s mother to inform her that Bhawana suffered burn injuries and was admitted to Soni Hospital in Haryana’s Hisar.
Soon after, the mother reached Hisar. The hospital was unclear where Bhawana was found or the circumstances leading to her condition. Due to the severity of her injuries, the 25-year-old was later shifted to SMS Hospital in Jaipur, where she died during treatment on the night of April 24.
The mother has claimed that there were sharp weapon injury marks on her daughter’s abdomen. She further alleged that her daughter was stabbed and then set on fire, suggesting she was murdered. Bhawana’s laptop, mobile phone and other valuables are missing, she further claimed.
(With inputs from Himanshu Sain)
New Delhi:
Any Pakistani, who fails to leave India as per the deadlines set by the government, will be arrested, prosecuted and may face a jail term of up to three years or a fine of a maximum Rs 3 lakh or both.
The ‘Leave India’ notice to the Pakistani nationals was issued by the government after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.
The deadline for exiting India for those holding SAARC visas was April 26. For those carrying medical visas, the deadline is April 29. The 12 categories of visas whose holders have to leave India by Sunday are — visa on arrival, business, film, journalist, transit, conference, mountaineering, student, visitor, group tourist, pilgrim and group pilgrim.
According to the Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025, which came into effect on April 4, overstaying, violating visa conditions, or trespassing in restricted areas could lead to three years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh.
“Whoever,-(a) being a foreigner, remains in any area in India for a period exceeding the period for which the visa was issued to him or stays in India without a valid passport or other valid travel document in contravention of provisions of Section 3 or does any act in violation of the conditions of the valid visa issued to him for his entry and stay in India or any part thereunder; “(b) contravenes any other provisions of this Act, other than sections 17 and 19, or of any rule or order made thereunder or any direction or instruction given in pursuance of this Act or such order or direction or instruction for which, no specific punishment is provided under this Act, shall be punishable with an imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with a fine which may extend to three lakh rupees or with both,” the Act says.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday called up the chief ministers of all states and asked them to ensure that no Pakistani stays in India beyond the deadline set for leaving the country.
After Shah’s telephonic conversations with the chief ministers, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan held a video conference with the chief secretaries and asked them to ensure that all Pakistani nationals whose visas were revoked must leave India by the fixed deadline.
The already strained relations between India and Pakistan nosedived further after the Pahalgam terror attack, with New Delhi announcing a barrage of retaliatory steps, including the cancellation of visas, and Islamabad hitting back with a string of tit-for-tat measures.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Smoke shrouded Iran’s largest commercial port and surrounding areas as a fire following a major blast killed 25 people and injured 750 so far. Strong winds posed hindrances to firefighting operations.
Here Are The Key Takeaways:
- An explosion occurred at the Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran on Saturday, leading to a major fire the intensity of which increased amid winds.
- Thick, black smoke spread far and wide, resulting schools and office in Bandar Abbas, situated over 20 kilometres away, to be ordered shut.
- Local media aired visuals showing choppers dropping water on shipping containers engulfed in dense smoke, even as survivors walked down a debris-littered boulevard a short distance away.
- The powerful explosion was felt and heard about 50 kilometres away, Fars news agency reported. Further, the shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged, per Tasnim news agency.
- The cause of the fire is being investigated. State TV quoted the port’s customs office as saying that the fire originated from the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot.
- The New York Times reported that a person with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity, said what exploded was sodium perchlorate, a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.
- Hundreds of people were transferred to nearby medical centres for treatment, as the provincial blood transfusion centre issued a call for donations.
- Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometres south of Tehran, is Iran’s most advanced container port, according to the official IRNA news agency. It is situated near the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of world oil output passes.
- Despite the explosion, the Bandar Abbas oil facilities continue to operate without interruption. The state-owned National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said in a statement that the explosion “has no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes or oil pipelines”.
- The explosion comes at the heels of Iranian and US delegations meeting in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, in which both sides reported progress.
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