Pictures showing Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson plunging into icy water during a military training drill in Norway were released today hours after the ex-Head of the Army accused him of using his job to boost his own career.
Mr Williamson was seen joining UK troops on an exercise in Bardufoss that involved jumping into frigid water before hauling himself out using ski poles.
The stunt emerged just hours after Mr Williamson was slammed by Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, for using his defence role to bolster his future political career.
The Defence Secretary spent the weekend in Bardufoss, Norway, with British troops, plunging into icy water as part of a training drill
Lord Dannatt branded Mr Williamson 'enthusiastic' and 'ambitious'.
But he said Mr Williamson's announcement that giant UK warship HMS Queen Elizabeth would be deployed to the Pacific was was 'oversold' and a 'bad diplomatic move' after China retaliated by axing trade talks with Chancellor Philip Hammond.
General Richard Dannatt, the former head of the Army, said the Defence Secretary was 'enthusiastic' and 'ambitious'
Lord Dannatt told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday: 'Gavin Williamson is a very enthusiastic individual and he has taken his portfolio at Defence seriously.
'Yes, I think we all know he is pretty ambitious as well and wants to use Defence as a platform to develop his own career.'
The former soldier said: 'Was he right to say we are going to send our aircraft carrier off to the Spratly Islands? To be honest, I don't think he is.
'I think actually it's premature… I think he might have actually just over-sold that one over the last few days and if it has had the disappointing effect that the Chancellor's trip to China where he was going to be talking about trade and that kind of thing, if that's been cancelled as a result then that's a bad diplomatic move and I think Gavin's got that one wrong.'
Lord Dannatt was speaking as the MOD released pictures of Mr Williamson taking part an Army training drill in Bardufoss, Norway, this weekend that involved him plunging into icy waters before hauling himself out with ski poles and them warming up with a shot of rum.
Williamson downed shots of rum - and toasted the Queen - after dragging himself from the waters
Williamson took part in a drill with UK forces in Norway which involved jumping through a hole specially cut into the ice
In response to Lord dannatt's quotes, Labour chairman Ian Lavery said: 'Once again the hapless Defence Secretary has stumbled into another diplomatic incident.
'It's a shame that Gavin Williamson isn't as focussed on his ministerial responsibilities as he is on his leadership ambitions. If Theresa May had any authority left she'd stop turning a blind eye to his series of blunders.'
The Chancellor was expected to meet Chinese vice premier Hu Chunhua, but Treasury sources said the trip was never confirmed.
It follows reports in the Sun newspaper that Mr Hu scrapped the plans hours after Mr Williamson announced that he would be sending HMS Queen Elizabeth to the Pacific region.
Lord Dannatt said Gavin Williamson's announcement was 'oversold' and a 'bad diplomatic move'
The HMS Queen Elizabeth´s first operational mission will take in the Pacific region, the Defence Secretary announced this week
The paper said China had been expected to lift its bans on British poultry and cosmetics not tested on animals, which could have opened up access to markets worth around £10 billion over five years.
But a Treasury spokeswoman said: 'The Chancellor is not travelling to China at this time. No trip was ever announced or confirmed.'
A source suggested the visit would be rescheduled when possible.
Mr Williamson confirmed this week that HMS Queen Elizabeth's first operational mission will take place in the Pacific region, where Beijing has been involved in a dispute over navigation rights and territorial claims in the South China Sea.
The Chancellor was expected to meet Chinese vice premier Hu Chunhua, but Treasury sources said the trip was never confirmed
Tory former chancellor George Osborne accused Mr Williamson of engaging in 'gunboat diplomacy' as he said it was important for ministers to not send mixed messages.
'I think it's very difficult to work out what the British Government's China policy is at the moment,' he told BBC Radio 4's Week In Westminster.
'You've got the Defence Secretary engaging in gunboat diplomacy of a quite old-fashioned kind, at the same time as the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary are going around saying they want a close economic partnership with China.
'Ultimately it's the responsibility of Theresa May as Prime Minister to sort this out because at the moment it looks all at sea.'
Elsewhere, the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov hit back at Mr Williamson, calling him the 'minister of war', after the frontbencher told the Munich Security Conference that Russia was trying to 'goad the West into a new arms race'.
Mr Lavrov said Moscow was interested in knowing how the western alliance saw its mandate in the Arctic, and said: 'If you listen to some people like minister of war – or, sorry, minister of defence of the United Kingdom, then you might get an impression that nobody except Nato has the right to be anywhere other than in their own borders.'
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News Photo Ex Head of the Army slams the Defence Secretary over China
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