UK Defense Secretary John Healey resigns

UK Defence Secretary John Healey resigned on Thursday over a disagreement about defense spending, according to a letter he posted on X.

British Defence Minister John Healey resigned on Thursday, criticising Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Treasury for refusing to give the armed forces the resources they need, News.Az reports, citing Euractiv.

In his resignation letter to Starmer, shared on X, Healey said the government finalised a much-delayed Defence Investment Plan back in January but that “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 wrote that the latest version of the Defence Investment Plan he was presented with on Monday “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”.

“After explaining to you that I would not be able to accept a DP settlement that does not give our Forces the resources they need, I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation as your Defence Secretary,” he concluded.

Healey had been in the role since July 2024, when Labour swept to power.

Since then, however, the party has plummeted in the polls, fuelled by discontent over the stagnant economy, and suffered a crushing electoral blow in local elections last month that prompted internal calls for Starmer to be replaced.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev