The Deputy Minister of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, Al Carns, has presented his resignation this Thursday after questioning the lack of military investment planned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Government. His departure comes a few hours after the controversial resignation of Defense Minister John Healey, also at odds with the Executive over defense spending policy.
In his resignation letter, Carns recalls that he had already warned that the Ministry faces challenges of great magnitude and that a broad agreement within the Government on the dimension of the threats is essential. "I have said that this Ministry faces problems that do not admit easy solutions, and that a consensus throughout the Government on the magnitude of the challenges we face is necessary. It has become clear to me that the change I promoted will not happen," he lamented.
The now former deputy minister emphasizes that, despite not having intervened directly in the preparation of the defense investment plan, he can state "clearly that it is not designed" to face the current "threat" against the United Kingdom. In his opinion, "it is not transformative enough nor does it have the necessary funding."
Carns reproaches the Executive for demanding that the Armed Forces maintain their operational capacity "in a more dangerous world with a budget conceived for a quieter world." "I cannot, in good conscience, defend a level of investment that I know is insufficient for its tasks," he added.
These resignations have forced Starmer to publicly defend his strategy. The Prime Minister has insisted that his Government foresees an "unprecedented" increase in defense spending "sustainably," amid controversy over Healey's departure.
In his own resignation letter, addressed to Starmer, the former Defense Minister argued that "this new era of defense required more investment" through the government plan. Furthermore, he reprimanded the Prime Minister that "you have not been able, and the Treasury has not been willing, to allocate the resources the nation needs to defend the country at this time of growing threats."