Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, who told The Times, that he has now decided to back Liz Truss over Rishi Sunak for the job of Prime Minister, has been accused by readers of the paper of angling for a job in the next government.

Wallace did not himself enter the Tory leadership contest and had kept his counsel — until now. One reader expressed his disappointment with Wallace’s preference for the foreign secretary over the former chancellor: “I’m afraid this has diminished Wallace. Rather sad.”

“Agree,” said a follow-up. “The first misstep by Wallace. He has weighed up who’s heading for No.10 and saved himself. He would have retained respect by not saying anything.”

“Oh Dear Ben,” was another comment. “And I thought you were a man of integrity. Better to have stayed silent.”

A fourth reader observed: “As Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.’ Until now I’m not sure anyone thought Wallace a fool!”

Wallace, who has been described by Right-wing newspapers supporting Truss as “kingmaker”, told The Times: “From observing both Rishi Sunak and Liz in cabinet and on other occasions, she is the only candidate who has both the breadth and depth of experience needed to confront these challenges. Prior to being a foreign secretary, she held the cabinet post of chief secretary to the Treasury. As trade secretary, she has driven international trade deals and represented the UK at the G7, Nato, and UN. Her experience makes her better placed to stand up for the UK in these troubled times.”

On Friday morning, Wallace toured the studios seeking to inflict maximum damage on Rishi. He was asked by LBC radio station’s Nick Ferrari how obstructive the former chancellor was in granting more cash to the armed forces.

Wallace replied: “I don’t think he was obstructive…”

The defence secretary said: “I mean, the multi-year settlement that we got was not what the Treasury had wanted. They wanted a one-year settlement. This was back in 2019, I think. And it was vital that we got a multi-year settlement. And the Prime Minister effectively asserted his authority and ensured that’s what happened.”

Ferrari asked: “But Mr Sunak was not in support?”

Wallace replied: “Not that I remember.”

Rishi has said that at a time of cost-cutting, he gave more money to defence.