Ben Wallace has hit out at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for suggesting British and French troops are on the ground in Ukraine to programme cruise missiles.
The chancellor had previously justified his refusal to send Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine by saying it would require German troops on the ground to programme them.
He had suggested British and French soldiers were in Ukraine to help with their Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles.
But Mr Wallace said in an interview with German news agency dpa: "[Scholz] was wrong... I can't tell you how Storm Shadows and Scalps are programmed.
"But it doesn't involve people standing around in an airport in Ukraine, it doesn't need to do that."
The former defence secretary also criticised Mr Scholz's hesitation to send Taurus missiles, saying: "You can't incrementally help Ukraine, you know, a bit of this and a bit of that.
