John Healey has stepped down as defence secretary, telling Keir Starmer the government’s defence investment plan falls “well short of what is required at this dangerous time”
The resignation of John Healey as defence secretary is a shocking blow, showing just how sluggish the needed boost for British defence still is. Not just because he says so but because he has intently listened to our defence chiefs for months about what the UK needs to defend against threats. They know Britain needs to plough resources into improving how the UK defends itself and not just how Britain chooses to wage wars abroad.
Sadly, the US had pivoted away from NATO and is undoubtedly an unreliable ally. And according to Mr Healey, British defence needs resources and those on offer have fallen short. Currently, the UK spends £70bn a year on defence and that figure needs to get to at least an increase to £36bn. Mr Healey’s resignation shows a level of unhappiness that we will likely see being expressed by our military chiefs if it has not been made already.
It is thought the military is to be offered another £13bn in fresh plans for UK defence, at the extreme lower end of the £18bn top end was under discussion. We do not know what figure the government is about to announce for the military in the long-awaited and much-delayed Defence Investment Plan. But when someone as serious as Mr Healey resigns you have to believe it is not enough. There is a huge difference between the “wars of choice” Britain has fought in recent decades and defending against an attack on the UK.
Being able to send 10,000 troops on rotation to Afghanistan and Iraq was complex enough but war has changed measurably in a few years, as illustrated by Ukraine. We currently have little more than 70,000 army soldiers and a few thousands Royal Marines capable of closing with an enemy – with perhaps little over 40,000 in the army fit enough to fight. In just four years Kyiv’s army has become Europe’s go-to professional fighting machine with more expertise on drone fighting than any other.
Apart from that the UK would use Type 45 destroyers with their Sea Viper missiles to shoot down incoming weapons fired by enemy ships or warplanes. They are ready to defend the UK but they may have to be deployed further from the UK in times of war. Our Type 23 frigates are configured with surface-to-air missiles of the same kind our land army uses close up to shoot down incoming missiles. But that might be too late and if a ballistic guided missile was incoming that chances of hitting that would be unlikely.
Mr Healey has worked tirelessly with immense passion and dedication on making the UK as safe as possible with limited resources. I have met him and interviewed him. I flew with him to Cyprus recently and witnessed how calm and unflappable he was when RAF Akrotiri’s sirens signalled an attack from Iran or its proxies.
From early morning to late night he spoke with soldiers, pilots, RAF ground crew, soaking in knowledge about what our Armed Forces is experiencing and crucially what it needs. Flying home after two days our plane was diverted as he had more early morning meetings in the north of England, all taken calmly in his stride. He was the kind of serious defence secretary the UK needs and his quitting has sent shock waves throughout the UK military.