Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey quits citing defence funding concerns

Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey resigned on Thursday, saying the Government’s proposed defence spending plans did not provide the armed forces with the resources they needed and could make the country “less safe”.

Healey posted a resignation letter on X in which he said Prime Minister Keir Starmer had been “unable” and the Treasury “unwilling” to commit the resources needed to address growing security threats.

“I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation as your Defence Secretary,” Healey wrote. The Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which has yet to be published, is intended to outline future defence spending and investment priorities.

Healey said demands on defence had risen further due to conflict in West Asia, Britain’s leadership of the multinational Strait of Hormuz military mission and NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission, increased Russian activity towards the UK and NATO nations, and increased attacks in Ukraine. He said the Government had sought a Defence Investment Plan that would address immediate operational demands and set a clear path towards meeting what he described as a NATO commitment to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035.

However, Healey said the funding settlement presented to him this week “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”.

According to Healey, the proposed plan would raise defence spending to just 2.68 per cent of GDP by 2030, compared with 2.6 per cent expected next year.

Referring to a warning by Starmer that Russia could attack NATO as soon as 2030, Healey wrote: “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 added that Starmer 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.”