John Healey devant le 10 Downing Street, Ã Londres
British Defense Minister John Healey announced his resignation on Thursday, blaming the once again weakened Labor government head Keir Starmer for the lack of resources allocated to the army budget.
The Ministries of Defense and Finance have been battling for months over financing the country’s growing needs in terms of military spending, in a context of international instability accentuated – in Europe by the threat of disengagement from the United States.
This struggle within the government has delayed the adoption of the United Kingdom’s Defense Investment Program since last year, although the army emphasizes the need for this plan in the face of threats against a backdrop of frequent Russian incursions into British waters.
However, the government is struggling to reduce the debt, even though the country has not been subject to such fiscal pressure for decades.
The highly publicized resignation of the Defense Minister comes as Keir Starmer struggles to stay in power after the departure of Health Minister Wes Streeting in May and faces another rival, Andy Burnham, who is trying to return to the forefront to enter the race for the leadership of the Labor Party.
“You have been unable – and the Treasury has been reluctant to do so – to commit the “resources the nation needs to defend the country in this time of increasing threats,†John Healey wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister.
The lack of visibility on the defense budget dissatisfies British industrialists in the sector who say in this context that they cannot invest in long-term programs.
“WIDELY INSUFFICIENT”
The war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran has further highlighted the lack of military preparedness of the United Kingdom, whose navy is not able to quickly deploy an advanced warship in the region.
The Defense Investment Program aims to define the financing of military equipment and services in order to enable the armed forces to achieve a level of “combat readiness”. Keir Starmer said on Wednesday the plan would be published before the NATO summit which begins on July 7.
“The financial regulations for your defense investment plan – the full version of which I received for the first time on Monday afternoon – fall far short of what is needed for defense and for the country at this dangerous time,” John said Healey.
“I am forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our forces, increase the risks to personnel in operations and could make the country less secure.”
(Muvija M and Sarah Young, French version Bertrand Boucey and Benjamin Mallet, edited by ​Sophie Louet and Benoit Van Overstraeten)
