Johnny Mercer’s WIFE becomes involved in a bitter feud with his boss, Ben Wallace

The feud between Ben Wallace and his junior secretary Johnny Mercer escalated dramatically today – even his wife got involved.

The secretary of defense renewed the bitter dispute, saying it was “lucky” Johnny Mercer didn’t have to manage the department’s budget.

In an interview with LBC, Mr Wallace pointed out that he is responsible for 224,000 staff, while the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has “12 people in the office”.

The brutal rebuke prompted Felicity Cornelius-Mercer to tweet her shock at the “contempt” Mr. Wallace showed for her husband and his assignment.

It came after Mr Mercer insisted it was “not credible” for Mr Wallace to say British forces had been “hollowed out”.

Mr Mercer – a former commando captain – suggested his boss had made exaggerated statements as part of the dispute with the Treasury Department before the budget on March 15.

In an interview with LBC, Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace said Johnny Mercer “thankfully” didn’t have to manage the department’s budget

Mr Mercer’s wife, Felicity, waded in after Mr Wallace’s final remarks and said he was showing “contempt”.

Mrs. Cornelius-Mercer frequently defends her husband

Asked about Mr Mercer’s comments, Mr Walllace said: “Well I think you know Johnny is a junior minister.

“And luckily Johnny doesn’t have to run the budget. You know, I have a defense budget that, like all other budgets, has to deal with inflation, changes in threat, and I have to deal with that. And that’s my job.”

Asked if Mr Mercer was “naive”. Mr. Wallace said: No, no, no. I just think, you know, his experience isn’t… he’s not the secretary of state.

“He didn’t run… I run a department with 224,000 employees, I think. or something similar.’

When asked how many employees Mr. Mercer was responsible for, Mr. Wallace replied, “He has 12 people in the office.”

Ms Cornelius-Mercer posted on Twitter saying “wow” with a shocked emoji. “@BenWallaceMP’s contempt for @JohnnyMercerUK and his Office of Veterans Affairs is really something else… You may see why caring for veterans is such a daily struggle,” she said.

It is by far not the first energetic intervention on behalf of her husband. After Mr Mercer was fired by Liz Truss in September, Ms Cornelius-Mercer said the cabinet system “stank” and “treats people appallingly”.

She tweeted an image mocking Ms Truss as Beaker, a character from the TV show The Muppets, and reported on Mr Mercer’s exit talks.

Ms. Cornelius-Mercer tweeted, “He asked her, ‘Why would you do that, who’s going to be better than me in this role, which of your buddies is getting the job, you promised a meritocracy?’

“PM – I can’t answer that, Johnny.

“This system stinks and treats people horribly. The best person I know got fired by a moron @trussliz.’

She added in a follow-up tweet, “Yes, I feel bitter. Please allow – 24 hours then back to the positive.

During a debate in the House of Commons last month, former Scottish Guardsman Wallace said he was “happy to say we’ve been hollowed out and underfunded”.

Just days later, at a joint UK-Australia press conference in Portsmouth, he said that a “growing proportion” of government spending would have to go towards the country’s security, in a message read ahead of the budget as addressed to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

This comes amid Britain’s efforts to help Ukraine push back invading Russian troops and rising global tensions with China.

Mr Mercer had reportedly taken offense at the Defense Secretary’s remarks in Parliament, apparently telling an event hosted by the Coalition for Global Prosperity that they were “apparently untrue”.

The Cabinet Office minister, asked about his reported previous criticism of Mr Wallace’s stance, told LBC: “Ben is lobbying his department as you would expect him to be.

“The facts are that when I got into politics defense spending was about £38bn a year – now it’s just under £50bn a year.

“It is obviously not credible to say that the money was taken from the defense.”

After her husband was fired by Liz Truss, Felicity Cornelius-Mercer said the cabinet system “stinks” and “treats people appallingly.”

When asked how many employees Mr. Mercer was responsible for, Mr. Wallace replied, “He has 12 people in the office.”

The brutal rebuke came after Mr Mercer (pictured) insisted it was “not credible” for Mr Wallace to say Britain’s forces had been “hollowed out”.

At the urging of Mr Wallace in the MoD’s funding debate, Mr Mercer added: “I think he stands up for his department when spending comes up.

“But when this prime minister was chancellor just 18 months ago, he made the largest defense payoff since the end of the Cold War.

“So to go up front and say we haven’t put any money into defense isn’t credible.

“I think we have, I think our Department of Defense and our military are in great shape. There’s a lot to be positive about, so I’m afraid I don’t really believe the narrative of the defense being shut down.

The comments come ahead of an update to the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, which is expected in the coming weeks.

The integrated report, released in 2021, announced a foreign policy “tilt” toward the Indo-Pacific to recognize China’s growing influence in the region.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk