Defence Secretary John Healey has resigned in a significant blow to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Healey posted his resignation letter on social media, describing it as something he “never expected to write”.
Resignation Letter Details
In his letter, Healey stated: “This era for defence required further investment through the defence investment plan. The excellent and extensive cross-government work that completed in January - overseen by you, me and the chancellor - confirmed the scale of the challenge and the rising demands on defence.”
He continued: “Since then, you have 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.”
Healey added: “However, your DIP financial settlement – which I was first given in full on Monday afternoon this week – falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time. The extra support is backloaded when the pressure of operations and imperative to speed up readiness to fight is in the first two years and it rises to just 2.68% of GDP in 2030, when we will reach 2.6% next year with the investment we are already making.”
Consequences of the Settlement
Healey warned: “Without a DIP that meets the moment in this way, I am being forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make the country less safe.”
He concluded: “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.”
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
