The former Defence Secretary has said he quit for ‘our country’ after refusing Sir Keir Starmer’s cash offer for the Armed Forces.
In his resignation speech, John Healey told MPs he had ‘loved’ his job but believed his decision was ‘necessary in securing the future’ of the UK’s military.
Healey left the Ministry of Defence last week after Sir Keir backed Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ offer of only £10 billion in new funding for the Armed Forces – despite the growing threat to UK security posed by Russia.
That settlement will put Britain in greater jeopardy according to Mr Healey and will increase the threat to troops.
Healey’s harrowing assessment was backed earlier today when the head of the UK’s Armed Forces gave evidence to a parliamentary committee.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton told the House of Lords fewer military operations would be possible based on the funding settlement backed by the PM.
While UK defence spending has risen from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.6 per cent of GDP since the last General Election, the current level of investment falls far short of national security requirements.
Service chiefs estimated an additional cash sum of £28 billion over the next four years was required to pay for higher running costs and new equipment.
In a poignant address, former Defence Secretary John Healey said his resignation had been ‘necessary’ for national security reasons.
Former Armed Forces Minister Al Carns told MPs the Defence Investment Plan was out of date.
Labour is yet to set a date for defence spending to rise to 3 per cent of GDP or when the UK will meet the long-term NATO target of 3.5 per cent on military personnel and equipment.
This afternoon, Healey told the Commons: ‘I took the decision to resign with the very greatest regret. I continue to be certain about the decision. In time I believe it will be seen as necessary in securing the future of our armed forces.
‘My decision was about our country not about my career. I loved the job. Though I won’t miss going to bed with three phones or the 3am phone calls. I am also proud of what we achieved.
‘But I see the current Defence Investment Plan as falling well short of what is required. A rise of 0.68 per cent from next year to 2030 and no date for reaching 3 per cent. No path to 3.5 per cent.
‘By 2030 well over half of NATO members will be spending 3 per cent or more. When allies are looking for British leadership we must not fall behind.’
Mr Healey, a parliamentarian for more than 30 years, thanks those Cabinet colleagues who had offered to make savings from their budgets to allow for additional investment in defence.
Labour remains torn on the issue of defence, with MPs on the left of the party favouring higher spending on the welfare state and other public services.
Indeed, the lifting of the two child benefit cap by Chancellor Rachel Reeves represents a higher investment than the £10 billion in additional defence expenditure.
Mr Healey added: ‘Our adversaries do not follow Treasury timetables. I appreciate how hard it is for Cabinet colleagues. But not all this has to be done by cutbacks.
‘We need a bigger view of national resilience, from enemy, to transport to health. Security must run through the government like letters in a stick of rock.’
Sitting two along from the former Defence Secretary was the former Armed Forces Minister Al Carns who resigned just hours later last Thursday.
The highly decorated former Royal Marines officer addressed the Commons after Healey. Carns described his decision as ‘exceptionally difficult’.
While Healey’s attack on Downing Street focused on defence spending, Carns criticised the decision making over what to buy and what not to buy, and the failure to incorporate lessons from the conflict in Ukraine.
Carns said: ‘I resigned because I no longer believed the DIP was preparing us for the wars we are likely to fight. A drone can achieve the result at a fraction of the cost of a fighter jet. Imagine 12,000 drones in the air over a single town, that is the reality. And 90,000 of casualties attributed to drones. While high end munitions cannot be reproduced at a rate that is sustainable in a long campaign.’
Carns also stood up for Veterans from the UK’s military campaign in Northern Ireland. In office, the former Armed Forces Minister had been forced to support the government’s Legacy Act while facilitates former terrorists bringing legal actions against British troops.
The Mail’s ‘Stop the Betrayal’ campaigned has highlighted how former troops are being persecuted into old age due to the government’s failure to prevent such spurious cases.
Freed from the shackles of collective responsibility, Carns backed this newspaper’s arguments.
He said: ‘I left because I could no longer the continued failure of our veterans in Northern Ireland. Our country owes a duty to those it sent into harm’s way under lawful orders. That duty does not end when that uniform comes up. Too many veterans have carried uncertainty for too long.
‘The IRA failed to achieve its ends through terrorism. We must be careful we do not help them achieve those aims through other means. Constant, never ending legal wrangles that undermine the contract between the nation and those who serve is neither a good use of taxpayers money nor an effective execution strategy.
‘Inquests, inquiries and an independent commission create a hierarchy of truth that could cost us hundreds of millions of pounds – in so doing, painting the state as an aggressor, supporting our adversaries’ political objections and causing untold anguish who only ever deployed to protect us.
‘We have neither the political capital nor the resources to spare for this unjust journey. Security means more than military strength alone.
‘I believe we can once again build a country that provides security in the broadest sense of the word. Security for our nation. Security for our communities. Security for our working families. Security for the next generation. That is the debate I am confident this resignation has started.’
