JOHN Healey has resigned as UK defence secretary.
The MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough had disagreed with the Prime Minister over military spending.
He told Keir Starmer in a letter that he was left with “no other option” after disagreement over the Defence Investment Plan (DIP).
Healey accused the Prime Minister of being "unable" and the Treasury of being "unwilling" to commit to resources for the military, and said the DIP he was handed earlier this week "falls well short of what is required".
In the letter, published on X/Twitter, Healey said he was resigning with "great regret and reluctance".
"We came into government recognising Britain faced a new era of threat which demanded a new era for defence," the letter said.
"The SDR [Strategic Defence Review] we jointly commissioned set the 10-year vision to transform our Armed Forces, strengthen alliances, invest in the technology that is changing warfare and back British industry to make defence an engine for growth.
"This 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.
"Since then, the demands on defence have increased still further, as have the UK commitments you have rightly made to allies. Conflict in the Middle East, with the UK now leading the multinational Strait of Hormuz military mission; High North security, with the UK now leading Nato's Arctic Sentry mission; increased Russian activity towards the UK and Nato nations and increased attacks in Ukraine, with the Paris Agreement confirming a British deployment to Ukraine after a ceasefire.
"We have worked to secure a Defence Investment Plan (DIP) that does two things. First, deal with the increasing operational demands on defence now and step up the SDR actions to meet the increasing threat. Second, set a clear path to meet the new Nato commitment you agreed to spend 3.5% of GDP in 2035 through the next Spending Review."
Healey continued that he and the Prime Minister had "regularly discussed" that the UK should reach 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, and that this would have "strong cross-party support".
He added: "Other European allies are stepping up in this way."
Healey went on: "The extra support is backloaded when the pressure of operations and imperative to speed up readiness to fight is in the first two years and it rises to just 2.68% of GDP in 2030, when we will reach 2.6% next year with the investment we are already making.
"You spelled out the threats last week: 'It is our intelligence assessment, and the assessment of other countries in Nato, that there could be an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030.'
"You know what defence needs. You made the argument for this powerfully in your speech at the Munich Security Conference back in February.
"Without a DIP that meets the moment in this way, I am being forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our Forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make the country less safe.
"After explaining to you that I would not be able to accept a DIP 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.
"I wish you all continuing strength in the exceptional challenges you face as Prime Minister. As always, our Labour Government will continue to have my fullest support."
