From 1h agoHealey criticises Reeves for being 'unwilling' to fund defence by enough, and Starmer for being too weak to over-rule herHere is one of the key extracts from the letter.
double quotation markThis new era for defence required further investment through the defence investment plan. The excellent and extensive cross-government work that completed in January – overseen by you, me and the chancellor – confirmed the scale of the challenge and the rising demands on defence.
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.
This is a double hatchet job. John Healey is criticising Rachel Reeves for being too stubborn to increase defence spending by the amount he wants, and Keir Starmer for being too weak to over-rule her.Key events18m agoHealey says he would have to take decisions that could make UK 'less safe' if he accepted PM's defence plans42m agoHealey says defence spending only set to rise to 2.68% of GDP by 2030 under proposed defence investment plan53m agoHealey says spending increase in defence investment plan 'falls well short of what is required'1h agoHealey criticises Reeves for being 'unwilling' to fund defence by enough, and Starmer for being too weak to over-rule her1h agoJohn Healey has resigned as defence secretary over Treasury refusing to give defence investment he says it needs1h agoIrish and UK governments, and NI's executive, agree to work together to 'prevent abuse' of common travel area2h agoBurnham says Waspi women should get 'some recompense' - but later clarifies he's not proposing financial compensation2h agoScottish councils face £500m shortfall in operating costs, spending watchdog says3h agoBenn says 1,000 people removed from Northern Ireland over past year by immigration enforcement, and more raids planned3h agoBadenoch apologises for Belfast knife attacker being granted asylum under 2023 Tory government4h agoGavin Robinson MP, DUP leader, said borders into the UK need “protecting” more4h agoHilary Benn accuses people of inciting disorder in Belfast after second night of unrestEd Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has said that John Healey’s resignation should be a wake-up call for the government. He said:
