Rishi Sunak urged blocking Ursula von der Leyen from NATO work

Conservatives are urging Rishi Sunak to block Ursula von der Leyen from becoming the next NATO chief amid claims that Joe Biden is backing her to punish the UK.

Having dashed the hopes of Ben Wallace, the US president is said to be pushing for the current head of the European Commission to take over the military alliance.

But lawmakers have complained that Mr Biden is ‘being annoying’, after apparently becoming angry that Britain did not get his approval to train Ukrainian pilots for F-16 fighter jets.

Conservatives have warned that Ms von der Leyen was the “worst” German defense minister before she became chair of the commission. Under her watch, troops in Berlin notoriously trained with broomsticks in NATO exercises because they didn’t have enough rifles.

Former minister David Jones urged Sunak to block the move. “I certainly shouldn’t be too eager to support her,” he told the Telegraph.

‘The concern is that the EU is seeking permanent structured cooperation, which is detracting from the integrity of NATO. Von der Leyen has been an enthusiastic advocate of it.

Another senior Conservative MP told MailOnline the idea could fail. ‘I think Biden is being ad***. He’ll probably get the backing of the French, but I don’t think the eastern allies would agree. And the Republicans don’t like the EU,” they added.

Foreign Affairs Committee member Bob Seely said the move would be “good news” for Vladimir Putin as he reels from the extraordinary chaos of last month’s coup.

Former minister David Jones urged Rishi Sunak (pictured at a reception last night) to block the move.

Ben Wallace made a strong pitch to become NATO chief but was blocked

With the Ukraine war raging, current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was given another 12 months in charge.

But that delay is widely rumored to be part of a plan for Ms von der Leyen to take office, becoming the first woman to do so, when her EU term ends next year.

The move is a victory for French President Emmanuel Macron, who has insisted the next boss should come from an EU state rather than Britain.

Defense Secretary Mr. Wallace made a strong pitch in the wake of his pivotal role in the response to the invasion of Ukraine. The UK is one of the few countries to meet the military spending targets of NATO, an elite group that does not include Germany.

There were claims that Mr Biden, previously branded ‘anti-British’, ‘did not want to support the UK’.

The president frequently boasts of his Irish heritage and has faced accusations of being anti-British. On a recent visit to the island of Ireland, he spent a few hours in Northern Ireland before touring the Republic for days and snubbed by flashing a Union Jack on his ‘Beast’ limousine.

He also made a ‘joke’ about beating the ‘Black and Tans’, an auxiliary police force fielded by Britain a century ago.

Ms von der Leyen visited the White House in March when the US and the EU announced the start of negotiations for a critical minerals deal.

Foreign Affairs Committee member Bob Seely said the move would be “good news” for Vladimir Putin as he reels from the extraordinary chaos of last month’s coup.

She was also heavily involved in talks with Rishi Sunak to finalize the Brexit deal for Northern Ireland.

There was pressure for the candidate to be a former leader, rather than a lower-ranking minister.

Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister who has been NATO’s top civilian official since 2014, said he was “honoured” by the decision to extend his term and that “in a more dangerous world, our alliance is more important than ever.” .

NATO leaders will meet in Lithuania next week, where a decision on a successor could be made.

Wallace had pushed to become the first Briton to lead the alliance since 2003, but he lacked the necessary support, particularly from the United States, the biggest military power in NATO.