Keir Starmer faces fresh blow after resignations by Al Carns and John Healey over defence

Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

Today has seen two ministerial posts vacated at the
Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces Minister Al Carns handed in his resignation a little
while ago, following his boss John
Healey, who stepped down as defence secretary earlier today.

Here’s how the day has played out (so far):

On Monday – Healey says he is presented with the
government’s defence investment plan in full for the first time – it lays out
funding for the department over the next decade.

12:09 (all times in BST) – John Healey publicly
announces his resignation as defence secretary, posting his resignation letter
on X. He says that he has “no other option” but to resign because
funding falls “well short of what is required for defence and the country
at this dangerous time”.

13:34 – Al Carns, the armed forces minister,
says there are “issues” facing the defence department, “that do
not lend themselves to easy answers”. He says that the world is
“getting more dangerous” and his boss, John Healey, carried that
weight with “discipline and decency”.

At around 14:00 – A government source defends
Starmer, telling the BBC: “This country is safer because of the decisions
Keir Starmer has made and we will continue to act in our national
interest.”

Just after 18:00 – Keir Starmer defends his
funding plans in a letter to Healey, saying his plan will “provide the
resources our military needs to keep us safe” and that he was “sorry”
to see the him go.

20:18 – Al Carns announces his resignation from
government, writing in a letter to Starmer that “it has become clear to me
that the change I had pushed for is not going to come”, and the UK cannot
keep up with changing “character of
conflict”.