Rishi Sunak today talked up Ben Wallace after the Defence Secretary dropped his biggest hint yet that he wants to be the next head of NATO.

The PM heaped praise on the 'widely respected' minister amid mounting speculation that he will make a pitch for the top post at the military alliance. 

Incumbent Jens Stoltenberg is due to stand down in September, but with 31 member states the appointment process is always highly political. 

France is said to be pushing for a candidate from the EU, while others would prefer to break new ground by installing a woman. 

Mr Wallace said yesterday that it was a 'job I'd like' - although he stressed that he is 'loving' being Defence Secretary. 

Mr Sunak stopped short of openly supporting Mr Wallace for the job, but told ITV News at the G7 summit in Hiroshima: 'I know he's widely respected by his peers for the role that he has played.

'He's focused right now on supporting Ukraine. He's doing a great job of that.'

Mr Wallace's latest signal came during a trip to Berlin for talks on Ukraine with counterpart Boris Pistorius.

The former soldier told German news agency DPA: 'I've always said it would be a good job. That's a job I'd like.

'But I'm also loving the job I do now. I mean, to be Defence Secretary of the British Government at a time of reform and investment, just like Boris Pistorius.'

He added that secretary general of the transatlantic alliance 'is a fantastic job and NATO is an incredibly important part of all our securities'.

'But it's not for me to decide. It's for all the other allies.'

Speculation has been mounting about Mr Wallace's intentions since he twice ducked out of running for the Tory leadership - despite polls suggesting he is the most popular member of the Cabinet with party grass roots.   

NATO member states typically decide on the alliance's next chief behind the scenes.

Mr Wallace would have to overcome the opposition of those said to be pushing for a woman or someone from eastern Europe, and of France, which would reportedly prefer an EU candidate.

If the Defence Secretary did succeed, it could trigger a by-election in his Wyre and Preston North seat, although it is set to be carved up under a planned shake-up of Westminster constituencies later this year.

The appointment of Labour MP George Robertson as Nato chief in 1999 led to a by-election in his Hamilton South constituency, south west of Glasgow.