UK defense secretary resigns in protest of government spending plan

ROME — British Defense Secretary John Healey resigned on Thursday, accusing U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer of skimping on defense spending at a time of “rising threats.”

Healey took aim at the U.K. government’s long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP), designed to shore up Britain’s military readiness but held up for months as government departments tussle over funding.

In his resignation letter to Starmer, which Healey posted on Thursday, he said he had now seen the defense funding plan, and it “falls well short of what is required.”

He added, ”You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats.”

He told the prime minister, “After explaining to you that I would not be able to accept a DIP settlement that does not give our forces the resources they need, I am now left with no other option than to submit my resignation as your defense secretary.”

Healey said that the spending plan agreed by the British Treasury would push defense spending to 2.68% of GDP by 2030, not enough considering that it would already hit 2.6% next year.

He admitted more funding would follow after 2030 but complained that the “imperative to speed up readiness to fight is in the first two years,” given the current threat posed by Russia.

“Without a DIP that meets the moment in this way, I am being forced to make decisions that would reduce the readiness of our forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make the country less safe,” he wrote.

Healey’s resignation could prove a last straw for Starmer’s Labour government, which has been shaken by internal dissent and calls on the prime minister to resign.

As the U.K. has dragged its heels on finalizing the DIP - with promises to publish it before the NATO summit in Turkey next month - doubt has been cast on Britain’s commitment to the sixth generation GCAP fighter program on which it is teamed with Japan and Italy. Last month, the UK signed a stopgap contract to keep work going on the program for three months. Now partners will be keen to see what money is available in the DIP to keep GCAP funded beyond that.

Healey’s resignation drew sympathy on Thursday from Italy’s defense minister Guido Crosetto, who is also battling threatened cuts to defense spending in Italy amid rising energy costs caused by the US-Iran conflict.

“I completely understand your reflections and the reasons that led you to make this choice,” Crosetto posted in response Healey’s resignation.

“It is a choice that cannot leave any of us, your colleagues, grappling with the very same challenges, indifferent.

“I find myself in agreement with almost everything you have written, and the thoughts you have made public today have often been my own as well,” he said.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——英国国防大臣约翰·希利周四辞职，指责英国首相基尔·斯塔默在“威胁日益加剧”之际削减国防开支。

希利抨击了英国政府长期拖延的国防投资计划（DIP），该计划旨在加强英国的军事战备，但由于政府部门在资金问题上争执不休，该计划被搁置了数月之久。

在希利周四发布的致斯塔默的辞职信中，他表示自己已经看过国防拨款计划，该计划“远远达不到要求”。

他补充道：“在这个威胁日益加剧的时期，你们一直未能，财政部也一直不愿投入国家保卫所需的资源。”

他告诉首相：“我已经向您解释过，如果国防投资协议不能为我们的部队提供所需的资源，我就无法接受，现在我别无选择，只能辞去国防部长的职务。”

希利表示，英国财政部同意的支出计划将使国防开支到 2030 年达到 GDP 的 2.68%，考虑到明年国防开支就将达到 2.6%，这还不够。

他承认 2030 年后会有更多资金到位，但他抱怨说，鉴于俄罗斯目前构成的威胁，“当务之急是在头两年加快备战速度”。

他写道：“如果没有一份能够满足当前需求的国防情报局（DIP），我将被迫做出一些决定，这些决定会降低我们部队的战备水平，增加作战人员的风险，并可能使国家变得更加不安全。”

希利的辞职可能成为压垮斯塔默领导的工党政府的最后一根稻草，该政府一直受到内部异议和要求首相辞职的呼声的冲击。

由于英国迟迟未能最终敲定国防投资计划（DIP），尽管承诺在下个月土耳其北约峰会前公布，外界对其与日本和意大利合作的第六代通用航空作战司令部（GCAP）战斗机项目的承诺产生了质疑。上个月，英国签署了一份临时合同，以确保该项目的工作能够继续进行三个月。现在，合作伙伴们迫切想知道国防投资计划中还有多少资金可以用于维持GCAP项目在三个月后的持续运转。

周四，希利的辞职引起了意大利国防部长圭多·克罗塞托的同情。克罗塞托也正努力应对因美伊冲突导致能源成本上升而威胁削减意大利国防开支的问题。

“我完全理解你的思考以及促使你做出这个选择的原因，”克罗塞托在回应希利辞职时发帖说道。

“对于我们这些面临同样挑战的同事来说，这是一个不容置疑的选择。”

“我发现自己几乎完全赞同你所写的一切，而且你今天公开表达的想法也常常是我自己的想法，”他说。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。