John Healey has dramatically quit as Defence Secretary, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of failing to properly fund the Defence Investment Plan (Dip).
In his resignation letter, Mr Healey claimed 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, first demanded by the Strategic Defence Review a year ago, has been bogged down for months amid fierce battles over cash. Healey said the funding package handed to him on Monday “falls well short of what is required”, warning that most of the extra support would not arrive until after 2030, even though the “imperative to speed up readiness to fight is in the first two years”.
He told the Prime Minister he had “no other option” but to resign, saying: “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.”
In his resignation letter, Healey highlighted achievements of the Labour Government in defence, including raising investment to 2.5% of GDP, launching the deepest reforms in 50 years, and securing major export deals. However, he stressed that the new era of threat demanded further investment through the Dip, which the government failed to deliver.
Healey noted increasing demands on defence, such as the UK leading the Strait of Hormuz mission and Nato’s Arctic Sentry mission, and increased Russian activity. He argued that a headmark of 3% of GDP on defence by 2030 was necessary, but the settlement offered only 2.68% by 2030, with most extra support backloaded.
He warned that without adequate funding, he would be forced to make decisions reducing readiness and increasing risk to personnel, potentially making the country less safe.
