Did 'anti-British' Joe Biden block Ben Wallace's NATO bid?

Did ‘anti-British’ Joe Biden block Ben Wallace’s NATO bid? Defence Secretary admits he won’t be getting military alliance’s top job amid wrangling between US and France

Ben Wallace has admitted his hopes of getting NATO’s top job are over after resistance from Joe Biden and France.

The Defence Secretary made a strong pitch to become the next Secretary General in the wake of his pivotal role in the Ukraine response. The UK is one of the few countries that meets the military spending targets.

However, he has now acknowledged that the appointment is ‘not going to happen’ despite Rishi Sunak personally lobbying the US president on a trip to Washington this month.

Mr Biden is said to be keen for current chief Jens Stoltenberg to extend his term, although there are also claims he ‘didn’t want to support the UK’. 

The president frequently boasts about his Irish heritage and has faced accusations of being ‘anti-British’. On a recent visit to the island of Ireland he spent a few hours in Northern Ireland before touring the Republic for days, and snubbed displaying a Union Jack on his ‘Beast’ limo. 

He also made a ‘joke’ about beating the ‘Black and Tans’ – an auxiliary police force deployed by Britain a century ago. 

Ben Wallace made a strong pitch to become the next Secretary General in the wake of his pivotal role in the Ukraine response

Joe Biden frequently boasts about his Irish heritage and has faced accusations of being ‘anti-British’ (pictured on a trip to Ireland in April)

Mr Wallace has now acknowledged that the appointment is ‘not going to happen’ despite Rishi Sunak personally lobbying the US president on a trip to Washington this month (pictured)

Mr Wallace is thought to have had backing from many of the Eastern European countries, but Emmanuel Macron (pictured) spearheaded a bloc demanding a candidate from an EU nation

In an interview with the Economist, Mr Wallace said becoming head of NATO is ‘not going to happen’, observing that the military alliance has ‘a lot of unresolved issues in Nato’.

He said the US wants Mr Stoltenberg to stay in the role, while other countries would prefer a national leader to take the prestige job.

But a defence source told Sky News: ‘Biden just didn’t want to support the UK.’

The process for appointing NATO chiefs is all behind closed doors, and highly political among the 31 member states. 

Mr Wallace is thought to have had backing from many of the Eastern European countries, but France spearheaded a bloc demanding a candidate from an EU nation. Danish PM Mette Frederiksen has been widely touted. 

It is a blow for Mr Sunak, who had heaped praise on Mr Wallace as a ‘widely respected’ candidate. 

‘Ben does a fantastic job. He is a great Defence Secretary,’ Mr Sunak said at the start of June.

On a recent visit to the island of Ireland Mr Biden spent a few hours in Northern Ireland before touring the Republic for days, and snubbed displaying a Union Jack on his ‘Beast’ limo (pictured)

‘Ben is widely respected among his colleagues around the world.

‘We’re one of the only countries that participates in every single Nato operation. We are widely perceived as a thought leader in Nato.’

Speaking alongside the PM, Mr Biden indicated that Mr Wallace was a ‘very qualified individual’ but it ‘remains to be seen’ who will get the job.

Mr Stoltenberg has served as secretary general for almost nine years and is due to step down shortly, but could extend his term.

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