UK defense secretary resigns over investment plan dispute

John Healey has resigned as the UK defense secretary, saying he could no longer remain in post after the government failed to provide the level of defense spending he believed was necessary to meet growing security threats.

In a letter to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which Healey said he "never expected to write," the outgoing Cabinet member said a long-awaited defense investment plan did not provide the resources required by the armed forces.

The resignation comes as the defense investment plan has yet to materialize.

Healey wrote: "This era for defense required further investment through the defense 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 defense," he noted.

"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," he added. "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."

In response to Healey's accusations, Starmer has insisted the government's defense investment plan "will provide the resources our military needs to keep us safe."

In a letter to John Healey, he said he was boosting defense spending "in a sustainable way" and said "irresponsible borrowing" would put the country's finances "at risk."

"I will always do what is needed to keep our country safe," he said, adding that he is "sorry that you will not be part of that work going forward."

"You are also right that we have to go further. The defence investment plan does just that — delivering an unprecedented increase in defence spending in a sustainable way," he noted.

"It will provide the resources our military needs to keep us safe and the clarity the British defence industry needs to plan. It will make the big strategic investments we need for the long term and give the certainty which private finance needs to invest," he said.

According to a House of Commons Defense Select Committee report released last year, the UK has "no plan for defending the homeland" and is failing to prepare for rising global threats.

While the UK remains a leading European military power, its ability to sustain this position is "under pressure," the report said.