Healey resignation signals dire funding for military as DIP labelled not fit for purpose
John Healey's resignation as Defence Secretary has prompted an outpouring of support from current and former Armed Forces ministers, defence secretaries and military experts, with Armed Forces Minister Al Carns saying the Defence Investment Plan is "not fit for purpose".
Mr Carns told Times Radio that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had "got to sort this out" after Mr Healey said in his resignation letter that the financial settlement laid out in the DIP "falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time".
Former defence minister Sarah Atherton told BFBS Forces News: "I've always had a lot of respect for John Healey... he struck me as a decent, principled and honourable man who genuinely cared about defence and the people who serve."
"But this isn't really about one minister. It's about a government that simply doesn't appear to understand the seriousness of the world we're living in.
"Defence isn't a luxury that can be put off until tomorrow. It underpins our security, our prosperity and our standing in the world.
"Britain's credibility is built on capability. If we continue to hollow out our Armed Forces while talking tough, our allies will notice and so will our adversaries," she added.
Penny Mordaunt, who was the Conservative defence secretary from May-July 2019, said in a post on X: "Lord Robertson and John Healey recognise this moment for what it is. Pivotal for our national resilience and defence with devastating consequences if we fail to modernise and rearm."
"Thank you John. Country before party," she continued.
The Defence Investment Plan, which had been due to be published this week, was said to contain just a £13.5bn financial settlement for the military, well short of the £28bn that military chiefs had reportedly asked for to fund the commitments set out by the Strategic Defence Review in June 2024.
General Sir Richard Barrons, who co-wrote the SDR, said Mr Healey's resignation highlights two profound strategic failures, the first of which is a "failure of competent government".
"How can it be that only a year later, the same government decides not only not to fund that review, but to make it go backwards?" he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One.
"The second strategic failure is that this makes this country unsafe," he continued. "It diminishes its place within Nato, it makes it vulnerable to war in the 21st century and our enemies, as well as our allies, will have observed this catastrophe today."
Former RAF senior commander and president of the Air and Space Power Association Greg Bagwell said Mr Healey's resignation was "an honourable decision from an honourable man".
"It is hard for the current government to make the necessary choices to invest appropriately in defence (especially with what it was left) but that's what we need governments have to do – no matter how tough," he continued.
We'll continue to bring you further reaction as it comes in.
A relationship built on trust
Support for Mr Healey also came from former Army officer and Conservative MP James Sunderland.
Colonel Sunderland, who served in the Royal Logistic Corps and was MP for Bracknell, said Mr Healey was a man of principle who had taken a brave step in stepping down.
"He clearly enjoyed being the Defence Secretary. He was clearly working hard. Differences were being made," he told BFBS Forces News.
"And I'm a Conservative politician, so I can play with a straight bat and commend Labour for what it's doing.
"But trust is important. I suspect that trust was actually at the heart of why he made the decision to resign, because he built a relationship with the service chiefs.
"He'd been briefed by them on numerous occasions as to what was required. He'd been lobbying really hard with them. He'd been lobbying really hard with the Treasury, with the Chancellor in particular, to get the money that Defence needs.
"And it's quite clear that that money is not going to be forthcoming, which is why John, I suspect, felt he had no choice but to resign.
"So let's give John the benefit of the doubt. I think he's a man of principle and I think he's gone for that reason."
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