British Defence ⁠Secy Healey quits over defence spending

⁠Britain’s defence ⁠secretary on Thursday ⁠said that he had resigned over ‌a disagreement with the Prime Minister on defence spending.

In a letter addressed to PM Keir Starmer and posted on X, John Healey accused the prime minister of failing to commit the resources needed to defend the country, reports Al Jazeera.

“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,” he wrote.

Britain’s defence and finance ministries have been locked in talks for months over how to meet rising demands to expand military spending, delaying the country’s Defence Investment Plan since last year.

Healey said the financial settlement he received on Monday “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time,” rising only to 2.68 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2030 at a time when he argued a firm 3 percent headmark by that year was essential.

Healey invoked Starmer’s own words against him, saying “there could be an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030”.

He added: “You know what defence needs. You made the argument for this powerfully in your speech at the Munich Security Conference back in February.”

The resignation comes as Britain juggles an expanding set of military commitments: leading a multinational Strait of Hormuz mission amid the conflict with Iran, heading NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission in the High North, and facing increased Russian activity towards the UK and NATO allies alongside escalating attacks in Ukraine.