Fears for future of the Royal Navy after defence secretary John Healey quits with UK left in a 'dangerous situation'
Expert reveals risk to UK could be weeks away
Fears have been raised that a threat to the UK’s security is weeks away after the defence secretary resigned accusing the Prime Minister of failing to properly fund the Defence Investment Plan (DIP).
This has led to questions about the future of UK's defence, at a time when the state of the Royal Navy has been put under a microscope. The force is dealing with a shrinking fleet, with replacements still years away from coming to fruition due to delayed start dates and funding challenges.
Prior to the defence minister’s resignation, there were reports and rumours that the DIP was not going to be at the level he was pushing for, with Conservative MP for Gosport, Caroline Dinenage raising the issue yesterday (Wednesday, June 10).
She said: "Yesterday I asked Defence Ministers to comment on news reports that the Defence Investment Plan was underfunded, and was told not to believe them. Now the Secretary of State has resigned with a statement full of frustration and despair at the Government's reluctance to properly fund our defence at such a crucial time.
"Who will take the role now? Nobody with any credibility could take up this DIP and sell it to the British public in the knowledge that it does not meet this dangerous moment or is anywhere near enough to fulfil our global commitments. If you think that we have reached maximum chaos with this Government, think again."
However, a Government source said the country was “safer because of the decisions Keir Starmer has made” and the Dip would “deliver the capability our armed forces need”. The Dip, originally called for by the Strategic Defence Review almost exactly a year ago, has been long delayed by wrangling over funding.
A press conference Mr Healey was due to hold with Australian defence minister Richard Marles on a Portsmouth naval base on Thursday afternoon was cancelled at the last minute.
Worries for the Future of UK Defence
Following the news of Mr Healey’s resignation, The News has spoken to a number of people who have raised concerns over the future of the Royal Navy and the Armed Forces as a whole.
Dr Matthew Heaslip, a senior Lecturer of Naval History at the University of Portsmouth said: “This highlights the very dangerous situation that the country finds itself in. Debates between the Treasury and the Ministry of Defence about investment levels are pretty common. It’s not unusual for them to be pronounced arguments at times, but to get a defence secretary to resign is quite dramatic.
“We are in a period which is very similar to the 1930s where you also had austerity and the country was stretched in many ways. But after 1935 as things got much more dangerous. Even the much maligned prime minister at the time Neville Chamberlain agreed to some pretty significant increases in defence expenditure in order to maintain deterrents.
“That is fundamentally what we are looking for, it is deterrents to prevent people from attacking us. The risk is that there will be attacks on UK infrastructure that will lead to much worse consequences than just higher bills than we are facing right now.”
He added: “When cracks start to appear potential adversaries start to push those cracks harder and harder. What John Healey has highlighted about the lack of investment, although not directly a ship, tank or aircraft, it signals a lack of deterrents and that can be perceived by an opponent and make them push the boundaries. By not signalling that we are going to protect ourselves we might actually be encouraging adversaries to start making grey zone attacks (where war has not been declared and where there is an element of deniability).”
While the DIP has not been released yet Dr Heaslip said that the rumoured increases in expenditure “are simply not enough given the threats that we face”.
Providing context to the situation Dr Heaslip clarified that this was not just the fault of the present government, but of multiple parliaments with the “warning alarms” increasing over the past 10 years. From the start of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine over a decade ago and the current war which has been ongoing for over four years there has been “very small” increases in expenditure over that time.
The current level of expenditure on defence combined with the political climate across the globe has left Dr Heaslip very concerned for the safety of the UK. He said: “We are not looking at a timeframe of years here, there could be threats within weeks.
“Due to the long term issues of funding we have no astute class submarine ready for sea and they are used for, amongst other things, protecting and guarding our subsea infrastructure which is 99 per cent of our data, and a lot of our electricity and gas goes underwater in pipelines and undersea cables.
“You run through the list and in many areas we are short on capacity and that is just the Royal Navy. If we put this historically it is not unusual for the army not to be where it needed to be, 1939 is a perfect example, but the frontline for the UK is its Navy and its air force and both of them are nowhere near where they need to be.”
Former First Sea Lord, Lord West of Spithead also revealed his frustration to The News. He said: “I am desperately sad because John Healey is a very good minister, he understands the military and he has fought very hard to get the money that has been required.
“I had hoped that our prime minister, who I thought understood this as he had said all of the right words, would have put his money where his mouth is but clearly he can’t control the treasury and the chancellor which is a sad state of affairs. If we don’t spend enough on defence, which clearly we are not, then the country goes further into risk. I think it is highly dangerous.”
Labour MP Tan Dhesi who is the Chair of the Defence Committee, called the today a “grave moment” and implored the government to treat John Healey’s warning with the “utmost seriousness”.
He said: “That a Defence Secretary of his integrity and commitment has felt compelled to resign in response to the inadequacy of the proposed defence settlement is a grave moment. The Government must take that warning with the utmost seriousness.
“The Defence Committee has been clear that investment in defence must be accelerated to reach three per cent of GDP by the end of this Parliament, and that the Defence Investment Plan cannot be delayed further or used to disguise hard choices. It must be affordable, deliverable and fully funded, with credible timelines and proper parliamentary scrutiny. Our Armed Forces, defence industry, allies and adversaries alike need to see that the UK is matching its words on national security with the resources required to deliver.”
Tributes to John Healey
While a lot of the focus has been on the risks that the UK face without increased defence spending, the now former defence secretary has received praise across the political spectrum for his integrity.
Defence minister Al Carns said: “John Healey has given this country serious service in a serious time. He took on the Ministry of Defence at a moment when the world was getting more dangerous, not less, and he carried that weight with the discipline and decency that the job demands.
“I worked alongside him closely. I saw the hours, the care, and the seriousness he brought to every brief, including the hardest ones. There are issues facing this department that do not lend themselves to easy answers.
“The work on funding, on veterans, on legacy, on the welfare of those who serve. The threats facing this country have not paused for a change of secretary of state. Our Armed Forces remain on operations around the world, standing with our allies, protecting our interests, and keeping the British people safe.
“They deserve a Ministry of Defence that matches their seriousness with our own. That is the job. It continues today.”
Caroline Dinenage called James Healey’s letter to the prime minister “honourable and respectable” with the shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, also speaking out in praise of his actions.
He posted a video on X stating: “Whatever our political differences, I’ve always admired John Healy’s integrity and he has shown it in this action. He has done the decent thing. He was left with no choice he had to resign given that the prime minister was offering him such a tiny amount of money for our Armed Forces at a time when we face war on two fronts, the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.
“I respect John Healey for this but I say to the prime minister, with the world as it is, this is not good enough and he is paying the price for prioritising a bigger welfare state over a stronger armed forces.”
Chair of the Defence Committee, Tan Dhesi MP, said: “John Healey has been a serious, committed and respected Defence Secretary, who has understood the scale of the threats facing the UK and the urgent need to strengthen our Armed Forces. Members across the Defence Committee will recognise his dedication to our service personnel and his determination to make the case for defence. We thank him for his service.”