James Heappey and Liam Fox are two of the well-known names
in the frame for the post of Defence Secretary.

Heappey, the current Armed Forces Minister, is a former soldier
who served in Afghanistan. He has been an MP since 2015. Heappey endorsed
former PM Boris Johnson during the 2019 leadership election, and went on to
serve as his parliamentary private secretary.

The Daily
Telegraph claims Liam Fox – who was defence secretary in
2010 under Prime Minister David Cameron – is also a “leading candidate”
for the job.

Fox was an ardent supporter of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
during his campaign for the Conservative leadership in 2022.

He stepped down from the role of defence secretary 12 years
ago, after it emerged the best man at his wedding, Adam Werritty, joined him on 18 foreign trips and handed out business cards suggesting he was
his adviser – despite having no official role.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen is another name
touted as a possible successor to Wallace.

The former management consultant has held a number of
government roles including parliamentary under-secretary for arts, heritage and
tourism (2017-18) and city minister (2018-22).

Downing Street has refused to comment on who might replace Wallace.