MoD in revolt: Healey and Carns quit over Starmer's military spending plan as PM faces new crisis
The defence secretary and armed forces minister have both quit, slamming the defence spending plan as not fit for purpose
John Healey and Al Carns have heaped new pressure on Sir Keir Starmer's premiership as they resigned over the controversial defence spending plan.
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The defence secretary and armed forces minister have both quit the Government, slamming the defence spending plan as not fit for purpose.
The investment plan, which is due to be unveiled soon, is slated to improve Britain's defence against emerging threats.
Mr Healey, a long-time ally of the Prime Minister, resigned after claiming the money in the defence investment plan would not be sufficient to defend the UK.
He wrote: "This new 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.
"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.
"Since then, the demands on defence have increased still further, as have the UK commitments you have rightly made to allies."
Scathingly, Mr Healey added: "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."
In response, Starmer said: “I will always do what is needed to keep our country safe.”
Mr Healey has been replaced as Britain's defence chief by Dan Jarvis.
After the bombshell resignation of Mr Healey, his colleague Mr Carns also quit the Government.
The former armed forces minister also slammed the Prime Minister's defence spending plan as "not enough" in his resignation letter.
In his letter to Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Carns described the forthcoming defence investment plan as "not built for the threat we face".
He added: "It is neither transformative enough nor sufficiently funded. We are asking our Armed Forces to operate in a more dangerous world on a budget written for a calmer one."
Carns also launched an attack on Labour more generally, writing: "The machinery of government itself has been left to decay. Decisions that should take days take months.
"Departments fight each other instead of the problem. Officials and ministers who know the truth are not always rewarded for telling it."
He concluded: "I'll keep fighting for the people I served with. I hope this government will too."
Carns quitting turned a damaging day for the Prime Minister into a full-blown revolt within the Ministry of Defence.
Healey and Carns have been followed out the door by Pamela Nash MP, who has resigned as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS).
Ms Nash criticised the "delays and difficulties" with securing the funding for the defence investment plan.
In his response to Healey's resignation, Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed that the key defence funding plan “will provide the resources our military needs to keep us safe".
Sir Keir thanked Healey for his work as defence secretary and said he was “sorry that you will not be part of that work going forward”.
Al was one of my very best commanders when i was in post. The MOD needs him. This Government needs his knowledge and leadership. If no.10 wont listen to him and Healey we really are screwed.
— Rt. Hon Ben Wallace (@BenWallace70) June 11, 2026
Former defence secretary Ben Wallace lamented the resignations on X, writing: "Al was one of my very best commanders when in was in post. The MOD needs him.
"This Government needs his knowledge and leadership. If no.10 wont listen to him and Healey we really are screwed."
Reacting to the resignation of Mr Healey on Thursday morning, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described it as a "principled resignation".
"He's absolutely right to have done so," he said.
Farage claimed Healey “wanted 3% to be spent on defence by 2030”, added the PM didn't match it by half.
"And so, John Healey is gone, and what his message says is that the Prime Minister is not prioritising the defence of the realm.”
He also claimed Starmer now faces a leadership challenge, saying: “Keir Starmer's premiership is over. It's only a matter of time. Already in the corridors of Westminster, the jockeying position is going on whether Burnham wins next week or not. There will be a challenge over the course of this summer to Starmer's leadership. It's over.”
Asked whether the Prime Minister would survive until the autumn, Farage replied: “I don't think he'll be leader by the Labour conference, no.”