Defense Secretary John Healey has resigned from the UK government, citing the constraints placed on his long-delayed defense investment plan by the chancellor of the exchequer.
Healey said Prime Minister Keir Starmer had 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,” in a resignation letter posted on X.
My letter to the Prime Minister pic.twitter.com/j9z9nmLCb1
— John Healey (@JohnHealey_MP) June 11, 2026
Healey's resignation plunges Starmer's administration into fresh crisis, with Britain's embattled premier already clinging to his job after a mass revolt from his MPs. Starmer is widely expected to face a leadership challenge from Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, if Burnham wins the Makerfield by-election on June 18.
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The UK Treasury had been resisting a push to accelerate an increase in defense spending, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, with ministers locked in fractious discussions over how to make up a £28 billion ($37 billion) funding shortfall.
Healey said in his letter that he was presented with the full details of the financial settlement his department would receive earlier this week, but that it “falls well short of what is required for defense and the country at this dangerous time.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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