UK defence secretary resigns over military funding dispute

Overview

Updated Jun 22

Britain's top uniformed officer told the House of Lords on June 16 that the armed forces will have to 'dial back' operations, training, and exercises if funding does not rise. Chief of the Defence Staff Rich Knighton said day-to-day budgets are losing ground to capital spending. The split was 80/20 twenty years ago; on current projections it reaches 50/50 by 2030.

New defence secretary Dan Jarvis attended the NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels on June 18 without the unpublished Defence Investment Plan. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is pressing all 32 members to present concrete plans for reaching 5% of GDP in defence spending before the July 7 Ankara summit. Starmer has indicated no additional money is coming.

Why it matters

Two ministers quit over Britain's defence budget weeks before a NATO summit, raising doubts about whether Starmer can fund the military he says is needed.

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Key Indicators

2.68%

Defence spending by 2030 under the disputed plan

The share of national income the rejected funding settlement would reach by 2030.

£28B

Extra funding the Ministry of Defence sought

The additional money the department requested over four years, above the planned increase.

£13B

Extra funding actually offered in the disputed plan

The Treasury's settlement offered £13 billion over four years — less than half of what the MoD requested.

Senior defence ministers who resigned

Healey and Carns quit within hours of each other on June 11.

3.5%

NATO core target Starmer pledged by 2035

The core defence-spending level the prime minister committed to at the 2025 NATO summit.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

John Healey

Former Secretary of State for Defence

Resigned June 11, 2026

Al Carns

Former Minister for the Armed Forces

Resigned June 11, 2026

Keir Starmer

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Facing pressure over defence funding

Dan Jarvis

Secretary of State for Defence

Appointed June 11, 2026

Rachel Reeves

Chancellor of the Exchequer

Holds the Treasury position at the centre of the dispute

Rich Knighton

Chief of the Defence Staff

Active — warning of operational cutbacks

Organizations Involved

Ministry of Defence

UK Government Department

Jarvis settling into role; Defence Investment Plan still unpublished ahead of the July 7 NATO summit

The department that runs Britain's armed forces and negotiated for the larger budget at the heart of the dispute.

HM Treasury

UK Government Department

Named in resignation letter as unwilling to fund defence fully

The department that controls government spending and set the defence settlement Healey rejected.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Military alliance

Summit on July 7 sets the deadline pressure

The 32-member defence alliance whose spending targets frame Britain's funding debate.

Timeline

June 2025 June 2026

7 events Latest: June 20th, 2026 · 3 months ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

June 2026
Standoff continues ahead of NATO summit
Latest Developing

With the Defence Investment Plan still unpublished, pressure builds on new defence secretary Dan Jarvis and the Treasury to settle the funding question before the July 7 NATO summit.
June 20th, 2026
Jarvis attends NATO defence ministers meeting without Defence Investment Plan
Developing

Dan Jarvis meets allied defence chiefs at NATO headquarters in Brussels, just seven days after taking office. The Defence Investment Plan — the document his predecessor resigned over — remains unpublished. Ministers say it will be released before the July 7 Ankara summit.
June 18th, 2026
NATO chief demands concrete spending plans before Ankara summit
Statement

Secretary General Mark Rutte calls on all 32 members to present 'clear, concrete and credible plans' for raising defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 before the July 7 summit. The target splits into 3.5% for core defence and 1.5% for wider resilience.
June 17th, 2026
Military chief warns armed forces must 'dial back' without more money
Statement

Air Chief Marshal Rich Knighton, Chief of the Defence Staff, tells the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee that the armed forces will have to reduce operations, training, and exercises without more resource funding. He says the day-to-day budget is being crowded out: a 80/20 resource-to-capital split twenty years ago is on course to reach 50/50 by 2030.
June 16th, 2026
Healey resigns; Carns follows; Jarvis appointed
Resignation

Healey quits over the funding plan, saying the Treasury would not commit the resources defence needs. Armed forces minister Al Carns resigns hours later. Dan Jarvis is appointed Defence Secretary the same day.
June 11th, 2026 • Daytime
Treasury delivers the disputed settlement
Negotiation

The Ministry of Defence receives its final Defence Investment Plan settlement. Healey judges it too small and too backloaded, rising to only 2.68% of GDP by 2030.
June 8th, 2026
June 2025
Starmer pledges 3.5% of GDP at NATO summit
Statement

At the NATO summit, Starmer commits to raising UK defence spending to 3.5% of national income by 2035, alongside other members.
June 25th, 2025

Scenarios

Government publishes the funding plan unchanged before the summit

Possible Resolves by Jul 7, 2026

Discussed by: UK Defence Journal, Forces News

Starmer holds the line. The Treasury keeps the settlement near its planned level, and Jarvis publishes the Defence Investment Plan ahead of the NATO summit without a major top-up. The resignations become a political bruise the government absorbs rather than a trigger for new money.

Starmer raises defence funding after the resignations

Uncertain Resolves by Jul 31, 2026

Discussed by: CNN, Time, Al Jazeera

The political cost forces a rethink. To steady the party before the NATO summit, the Treasury commits additional money beyond the rejected settlement, moving toward the 3% by 2030 level Healey wanted. The government frames it as a response to the threat picture, not to the resignations.

Defence row widens into broader trouble for Starmer

Unlikely Resolves by Q3 2026

Discussed by: The Quint, CBS News

The departures expose deeper Labour splits. Another cabinet minister resigns or a formal leadership challenge is launched as backbenchers use the funding fight to press Starmer. The defence dispute becomes the opening of a wider crisis rather than a contained one.

Funding row fades and Jarvis settles the department

Possible Resolves by Aug 31, 2026

Discussed by: UK Defence Journal

The new secretary of state contains the fallout. No further ministers leave, the plan proceeds, and the story drops out of the headlines within weeks as attention moves to the summit's outcome. Healey and Carns remain on the backbenches.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

January 1986

Michael Heseltine resigns over Westland (1986)

Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine walked out of a cabinet meeting and quit over how the government handled the rescue of helicopter maker Westland. He accused Margaret Thatcher's team of stifling debate. The dispute mixed defence procurement with a fight over process.

Then

The walkout damaged Thatcher and forced a second minister, Leon Brittan, to resign weeks later.

Now

Heseltine returned to government in 1990 and later challenged Thatcher, helping end her leadership.

Why this matters now

Like Healey, a defence secretary resigned on principle over how the government ran a major defence decision, wounding a sitting prime minister.

March 2016

Iain Duncan Smith resigns over welfare cuts (2016)

Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith quit, blaming Treasury-driven cuts to disability benefits he called indefensible. He framed the resignation as a stand against a budget squeeze imposed from outside his department.

Then

The government dropped the disputed cuts within days to limit the damage.

Now

The resignation exposed Conservative splits months before the Brexit referendum deepened them.

Why this matters now

It is the same fight Healey describes: a department head resigning because the Treasury would not fund what he believed the job required.

December 2018

James Mattis resigns as US defense secretary (2018)

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned with a letter setting out policy disagreements with President Trump, after a decision to withdraw troops from Syria. The letter spelled out his reasons rather than offering a quiet exit.

Then

Trump moved up Mattis's departure date after the letter became public.

Now

The resignation became a reference point for principled exits over defence policy.

Why this matters now

Healey, like Mattis, used a detailed resignation letter to put his disagreement on the record and pressure the leader he served.