Ex-Defence Secretary Fires Back After Zia Yusuf Dubs Former Tory MP ‘A Traitor To Britain’

Ben Wallace has hit back at Zia Yusuf after the Reform home affairs spokesperson called the ex-defence secretary a “traitor to Britain”.

Their social media row began when Wallace, who stood down as a Conservative MP in 2024, criticised Reform UK’s plan to fix the shortage of prison spaces by sending foreign criminals abroad.

The right-wing party has proposed deporting those with non-custodial sentences to their country of origin if they ever get into government.

Those with custodial sentences would either be forced to go home or to a third country, like El Salvador.

But Wallace, a former Tory cabinet minister, tore into the proposal while also accusing Yusuf of “making policy and facts up”.

He wrote on X: “If memory serves me right the top foreign nationalities in UK prisons are Irish, Polish, Romanian, Albanian and Baltics. Total number of foreign offenders always hovered around 10-11k.

“ Reform have to answer a.) how they will force those countries to take these offenders. For decades they have refused to.

“b.) If they won’t and then deport them but they are released how will that sit with their victims? And the Irish offenders will find it easy to return.”

Yusuf soon hit back by calling Wallace, who headed up the defence department for four years, a “moron”.

He wrote on X: “Incredible that this moron was defence secretary.

“Our policy today is in direct response to your government’s failures.

“If their home countries won’t take back, their citizens that are languishing in our jails, we are renting spaces in countries like El Salvador to put them.

“They will serve their full jail terms there, and will be banned from ever coming back to Britain.

“They may well include some of the thousands of Afghans you imported, including those who had not been vetted properly and including Taliban fighters (!).

“You know, the ones you took a super injunction out to keep secret from the British people? That’s why I call you a traitor to Britain. You fit the dictionary definition.”

But Wallace hit back: “Oh look a lesson from a man who never put a uniform on…just worked at bank.

“A man who is literally making policy and facts up.

“A man who cant even get his own party to pick him as an MP ( tell us why please?).

“When Reform stop taking £5m bungs and start being honest with people then people might take you seriously.

“No one is saying don’t send prisoners back when you can but don’t lie to the public you can do it with a magic wand. You guys are getting desperate. After all you recruited Suella!”

Suella Braverman worked in the Tory cabinet at the same time as Wallace but defected to Reform earlier this year.

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