MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Former UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace threatened to cancel 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 UK 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 United Kingdom, was appointed as the new defense secretary.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230903/former-uk-defense-secretary-wallace-tried-to-cancel-helicopter-deal-with-us---reports-1113083758.html
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