Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey [File: AFP]By ReutersPublished On 11 Jun 202611 Jun 2026Britain’s defence minister says he has resigned over a disagreement with the prime minister about defence spending.
In a letter addressed to Keir Starmer and posted on X on Thursday, Defence Secretary John Healey accused the prime minister of failing to commit the government resources that are needed to defend the country.
Britain’s’s defence and finance ministries have been locked in talks for months over how to meet rising demands to expand military spending, delaying Britain’s Defence Investment Plan since last year.
“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,” Healey said in his letter to Starmer.
The delay has infuriated Britain’s defence industry which says it cannot invest in long-term programmes for the country’s security at a time of huge geopolitical volatility and as the United States pivots away from protecting Europe.
