Defence Secretary Ben Wallace rules himself out of UK leadership race

Britain's defence secretary, one of the favourites in polls to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has announced that he will not throw his hat into the already acrimonious leadership race.

Ben Wallace, who has impressed as defence chief and been among the frontrunners in several recent polls, said on Saturday he would not stand after discussing a bid with colleagues and family.

"It has not been an easy choice to make, but my focus is on my current job and keeping this great country safe," he said on Twitter.

The likely months-long campaign, potentially pitting more than a dozen Tory lawmakers and multiple factions of the ruling party against each another, is set to be formalised on Monday, when a committee will meet to agree the timetable and rules.

Four contenders have so far declared they are standing. The early frontrunner is former finance minister Rishi Sunak, who helped kickstart the cabinet revolt that led to Johnson's forced resignation on Thursday.

READ MORE: What the fall of ‘Johnsonism’ could mean for Britain

Crowded race

Sunak resigned late on Tuesday, triggering dozens of more junior colleagues to follow suit and forcing his ex-boss to then quit as Tory leader 36 hours later.

But Johnson, whose three-year premiership has been defined by scandal, the country's departure from the European Union and Covid, said he would stay on until his successor is selected.

A summer of rancorous campaigning now looms. Party members will eventually choose their new leader — from a two-person shortlist whittled down in multiple rounds of MPs' voting — before the Conservatives' annual conference in early October.

Alongside Sunak, attorney general and arch-Brexiteer Suella Braverman, the relatively unknown former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch and backbench Tory MP Tom Tugendhat have announced their candidacies.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and new finance minister Nadhim Zahawi — who replaced Sunak in the treasury on Wednesday — are expected to join the crowded field which could feature as many as 15 contenders.

Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who was runner-up to Boris Johnson in 2019, is also "virtually certain" to run again, allies told UK media.

Sunak, narrowly ahead of Truss atop the latest poll of party members, drew immediate support from several senior MPs after declaring he was standing in a slick video on social media late on Friday.

He was also swiftly attacked by Johnson loyalists in a sign of the acrimony that could blight the contest.

Following the nearly 60 resignations that triggered his decision to quit, Johnson assembled a new team to govern in the interim, announcing a flurry of junior appointments late on Friday.

READ MORE: Demands for Johnson's immediate removal grow as Sunak bids to replace him