Defence minister Ben Wallace says he will stand down at the next election.

Mr Wallace, the longest-serving Conservative defence secretary, said in an interview with The Times: “I’m not standing next time.”

He added that he will not force a by-election by resigning “prematurely” – as fellow allies of Boris Johnson have done.

Mr Wallace also confirmed he would leave the cabinet at the next reshuffle, which is expected to be held this autumn.

Sky News reported that he was considering the move on Saturday.

“I went into politics in the Scottish parliament in 1999. That’s 24 years. I’ve spent well over seven years with three phones by my bed,” he told The Times.

When asked what the devices were for, he replied: “Secret, secret and secret.”

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It comes following controversy last week when the defence secretary told a press conference that the UK was not an “Amazon” delivery service for weapons to Ukraine.

He also Kyiv might be wise to let its supporters “see gratitude”,

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later pushed back against the comments, saying Mr Zelenskyy had “expressed his gratitude for what we’ve done on a number of occasions”.

Speculation about the defence secretary’s fate has been mounting for weeks, with officials inside the Ministry of Defence wondering who might replace him.