The Government is facing fresh pressure after Armed Forces Minister Al Carns resigned from his post, just hours after Defence Secretary John Healey stepped down in a dispute over military funding.
Mr Carns announced his resignation on Thursday evening, saying he could not support a Defence Investment Plan that he believed was insufficient to meet the challenges facing Britain’s armed forces.
His departure follows the resignation of Mr Healey, who warned Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer that proposed defence spending plans did not go far enough to address growing global threats.
In his resignation letter, Mr Carns said it had become clear that changes he had pushed for within government were not going to happen. Drawing on his experience as a former Royal Marine, he argued that the nature of modern warfare is changing rapidly and that Britain risks preparing for past conflicts rather than future ones.
He wrote that the Defence Investment Plan was “neither transformative enough nor sufficiently funded” and said he could not defend a level of investment he believed was inadequate.
Mr Carns also criticised the Government’s approach to Northern Ireland legacy legislation, arguing that it remained unfit for purpose despite attempts to improve it from within government.
The Birmingham Selly Oak MP said the country faced a more dangerous and unstable world than at any point in recent decades and warned that defence policy needed to reflect that reality.
His resignation came shortly after a series of media interviews in which he expressed concerns about defence funding, although he had indicated earlier in the day that he was prepared to wait for the final version of the Defence Investment Plan before making a decision on his future.
The resignation follows the departure of Mr Healey, one of Sir Keir’s most senior Cabinet allies. In his own resignation letter, the former Defence Secretary said the proposed funding settlement fell short of what was required and expressed concern that key investment would be delayed into future years.
Reports suggest the Ministry of Defence had sought significantly more funding than was ultimately offered as part of the Government’s spending plans.
Sir Keir has defended the Government’s position, saying the Defence Investment Plan will provide the resources needed to keep Britain safe while maintaining economic stability.
The Prime Minister has appointed Dan Jarvis, the current security minister and a former Army officer, as the new Defence Secretary.
The resignations come as the Government continues work on its long-awaited Defence Investment Plan, which is expected to set out how future military spending commitments will be funded. The issue is likely to remain under close scrutiny ahead of next month’s NATO summit.
Main Image: Alistair Carns ©House of Commons/Laurie Noble Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)
