New Defence Secretary insists he's determined to get Armed Forces 'the funding they need'
His appointment followed the resignation of John Healey, who quit over the Government’s approach to military funding
The new Defence Secretary, Dan Jarvis, has said he is determined to secure the funding Britain’s Armed Forces need, after his predecessor resigned over Labour’s military spending plans.
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In his first interview since being promoted, Mr Jarvis, who was previously security minister, urged the Government to “meet the moment” on defence spending, as questions continue over the scale of Labour’s proposed Defence Investment Plan.
His appointment followed the resignation of John Healey, who quit over the Government’s approach to military funding.
Mr Jarvis, 53, said: “I think you will appreciate that this is pretty early days for me, and I’m working through the detail of all of that, but I am absolutely determined to make sure that we deliver for defence. It’s a moment of challenge.
"It’s the responsibility of our Government to rise to meet the moment of that challenge, and that is what I will be working to achieve.”
Mr Healey’s resignation came after he said the proposed Defence Investment Plan would increase military spending by £13.5 billion, amounting to just 0.08 per cent of GDP.
He added: “The defence of our nation is a shared endeavour... I have a big responsibility in that regard now, but so do all of those people who expose themselves to risk tonight, tomorrow, next week, and we owe them a debt of gratitude.
“I have a responsibility now to them to make sure that they get what they need, and people should be very clear about my determination to fulfil those duties, to make sure that they do [get] precisely what they need.”
Mr Jarvis, 53, who was previously security minister, suggested he was still working through the detail of the current plans and did not explicitly tie himself to them.
He also praised Mr Healey, saying: “an exceptional secretary of state” who “inherited an Armed Forces that had endured 14 years of neglect”.
He added: “I’m really proud of the work that John has done. He did a very, very good job on behalf of the nation.”
Looking ahead, Mr Jarvis said: “It’s my job now, my responsibility, to keep marching forward, and that’s what I’m going to do. Those amazing people who serve in our Armed Forces look to us to provide that leadership and to work across government to make sure that they’ve got the resources in place that they need. Obviously that is the challenge that we have at a point of constrained fiscal resource and I will be working with my colleagues across government to make sure that we’re in a position to do that.”
Mr Healey’s departure triggered other resignations, including Armed Forces minister Al Carns, as well as parliamentary private secretaries Pamela Nash and Rachel Hopkins.
Despite reports the role is seen by some in Labour as a difficult one, Mr Jarvis said he could not turn it down.
He said: “I think if the Prime Minister asks you to step forward to serve in a role that underpins the security of our nation, in truth, I don’t have it in my DNA to say no to that.”
He added: “I intend not to let him down, and to make the most of this opportunity.”
Mr Jarvis said he was at Sandhurst marking 30 years since he had been a cadet there when he learned of Mr Healey’s resignation.
He said: “Towards the end of my talk, my phone was ringing, kept ringing, I kept ignoring it... and then in the end I had to say, ‘I think something’s happening.’
“It was at that point with the cadets that I was told that the Secretary of State had resigned, which was a big shock. I then had to make a decision about what to do next. I thought the right thing to do was to return to Whitehall to get on with my job.”
He added that as he was leaving, someone he had served with shouted: “Serve to lead,” the motto of Sandhurst.
Mr Jarvis said: “I think he said it as a joke, but a couple of hours later the Prime Minister appointed me to be the Secretary of State, which is a huge weight of responsibility, and one that I take incredibly seriously.”
The Barnsley MP, who has served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Kosovo, described defence as his “first love”.
He said: “Defence has always been my first love. But actually the best bit of it by far was meeting those people who put on a uniform to go and do a difficult job.”
He added: “I feel a very strong weight of responsibility to them to make sure that they’ve got everything they need to do the difficult job that we ask of them. I am utterly determined to make sure that we do that.”