Defence secretary quits with ‘blistering’ swipe at Starmer - The Latest
From Today in Focus by The Guardian
June 11, 2026 · 12 min
About this episode
John Healey resigns as defence secretary, criticizing the government's military spending plans and Keir Starmer's leadership.
John Healey has resigned as defence secretary over the government’s military spending plans, in another significant blow for Keir Starmer. In a scathing letter to the prime minister, Healey said the long-awaited defence investment plan “falls well short of what is required for defence” and that he would have had to take decisions that “could make Britain less safe”. Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian’s policy editor, Kiran Stacey Healey quits in row with Starmer over military spending . Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
People in this episode
Host: Nosheen Iqbal
Guest: Kiran Stacey
Topics covered
- defence
- military spending
- politics
- government
- resignation
Keywords
- defence secretary
- military spending
- resignation
- Keir Starmer
- John Healey
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Guardian, government, prime minister
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