Ben Wallace has appeared to further play down his prospects of emerging as Nato chief in the future, after ruling himself out of the race to replace Jens Stoltenberg.

The Defence Secretary had already ruled himself out of the running to replace the outgoing Nato secretary general, telling The Economist last week “it’s not going to happen” and there are “a lot of unresolved issues in Nato”.

There had been speculation Mr Wallace could emerge as a leading contender to take on the key defence job. Earlier in the month, US President Joe Biden said he would support a Nato leader from the UK when he met with Rishi Sunak at the White House.

Mr Biden had indicated that Mr Wallace was a “very qualified individual”, but it “remains to be seen” who will get the job.

But speaking at the Rusi conference on Monday, the Defence Secretary seemed to suggest that a switch to Nato was not on the horizon in the short or even medium-term.

Giving a very brief answer, he said: “I am not going to be doing it this year, next year or the year after. It is for others to take up that job.”