Defence secretary quits over armed forces funding

Christopher McKeon, Helen Corbett and Sophie Wingate, Press Association

John Healey has resigned as defence secretary, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of failing to properly fund the Defence Investment Plan (Dip).

In a letter to Sir Keir, Mr Healey said the Prime Minister had been “unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats”.

The Dip, originally called for by the Strategic Defence Review almost exactly a year ago, has been long delayed by wrangling over funding.

Mr Healey said he had received a financial settlement for the Dip on Monday afternoon which “falls well short of what is required”, with extra support coming after 2030 when the “imperative to speed up readiness to fight is in the first two years”.

He said: “After explaining to you that I would not be able to accept a Dip settlement that does not give our forces the resources they need, I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation as your defence secretary.”

Sources said the the Government had wanted to publish the Dip on Thursday, but with a £13.5 billion uplift that military chiefs said would not be enough to fund the transformation the armed forces needed.

While the Government has committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035, Mr Healey said the plan he was presented with on Monday moved too slowly, with defence spending rising to just 2.68% in 2030 after hitting 2.6% next year.

He added that without a Dip that “meets the moment” he was “forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make our country less safe”.

Sources said the deal offered by the Treasury did not put a date on increasing spending to 3%, and had tried to force the Ministry of Defence to plan to only reach that figure in 2034/35.

An ally of Mr Healey said the former defence secretary had been “one of the most loyal Labour men for over 30 years” and had “only ever wanted a successful Labour government”.

Mr Healey is the fourth Cabinet minister to leave Sir Keir’s Government since coming to power and the second to resign over policy differences after Wes Streeting quit as health secretary last month amid the fallout from Labour’s local election losses.

Praise

His letter brought praise from Conservative MPs, with former soldiers Tom Tugendhat and Ben Obese-Jecty describing it as “principled”.

Mr Tugendhat, a former defence minister, said the letter “states clearly this administration has failed”.

He added: “I’ve criticised every party for the state we’re in but the truth is now clear: the complacent confidence in peace is over. We must rearm.”

Labour MP and chairman of the Defence Committee Tan Dhesi paid tribute to Mr Healey as a “serious, committed and respected defence secretary” and said his resignation was “a grave moment” and a warning the Government should treat with “utmost seriousness”.

He said: “The Defence Committee has been clear that investment in defence must be accelerated to reach 3% of GDP by the end of this Parliament, and that the Defence Investment Plan cannot be delayed further or used to disguise hard choices.”

‘Falling apart’

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Mr Healey’s resignation showed Sir Keir’s premiership was “falling apart”, adding the Prime Minister had “no plan whatsoever”.

She said: “I don’t see how he can stay in this job. He can’t run the country. He is paralysed because his backbenchers only want to spend money on welfare.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Healey’s departure should act as “a wake-up call” for Sir Keir and potential leadership challenger Andy Burnham, urging them to “get serious about funding our armed forces properly”.