Starmer accused of ‘not listening’ as Al Carns becomes second defence minister to resign in 24 hours – live updates

As he appointed Dan Jarvis to replace John Healey, the prime minister said: “My first duty is to keep the British people safe, and I will always do what is necessary to protect our national security.

“I am pleased to appoint Dan Jarvis as Defence Secretary as we strengthen our armed forces and meet the growing threats facing our country.

“This Labour government is delivering the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War.

“In a dangerous and volatile world, we will give our armed forces the capabilities they need to defend Britain and keep our nation secure.”

12.09pm: John Healey resigns as defence secretary, telling the prime minister the financial settlement for defence plan fell “well short of what is required”, with extra support coming after 2030 when the “imperative to speed up readiness to fight is in the first two years”

6.35pm: Sir Keir Starmer issues a strong defence of his spending plans, telling Mr Healey Labour had implemented the highest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, adding: “You are also right that we have to go further. The defence investment plan does just that.”

7.44pm: Pamela Nash, Mr Healey’s parliamentary private secretary, resigns, describing the “delays and difficulties” that had dogged the Defence Investment Plan as “the latest issue that is damaging to the trust of the public in us”

8.22pm: Al Carns resigns as a defence minister, saying he could not defend “a level of investment I know to be inadequate to the task”

9.07pm: Dan Jarvis appointed new defence secretary

The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin earlier tipped Dan Jarvis as a successor to John Healey:

Breaking news: Dan Jarvis has been appointed Defence Secretary, Downing Street has announced.

Labour MP Al Carns, who has been touted as a possible future leadership candidate, told Sir Keir Starmer as he resigned: “While I had no hand in the defence investment plan, that distance does allow me to say plainly that it is not built for the threat we face.

“It is neither transformative enough nor sufficiently funded. We are asking our armed forces to operate in a more dangerous world on a budget written for a calmer one.”

In his letter to the prime minister standing down as defence minister, Mr Carns said it had become clear that the spending he had wanted would not come.

He wrote: “It has been the privilege of my life to serve this country, first in uniform and then in government.

“I have said that there are issues facing this department that do not lend themselves to easy answers, and that there needs to be agreement throughout the Government about the scale of the challenges we face. It has become clear to me that the change I had pushed for is not going to come. Given the situation, I have decided to resign as minister for the armed forces.

“We face a more unstable and dangerous world than at any point in recent decades, and having spent most of my adult life in uniform, I understand what public service in such a moment demands.

“It is for this very reason I cannot continue.

“I have watched, as a Marine, what war looks like now. I have spoken to those who have seen it up close in Ukraine. The lesson is uncomfortable and it is unambiguous.

“The character of conflict is changing faster than our procurement can keep up with. We are still purchasing capability suitable for the last war while our adversaries arm for the next one. Platforms that cost billions can be defeated by systems that cost thousands. Any serious defence investment plan has to start from that reality.”

Mr Carns said he quit because he could not “in good conscience” defend a level of investment he knew “to be inadequate to the task”.

He wrote: “I have sat in the rooms, seen the assessments, and spoken to the commanders who will be asked to do more with less, and I cannot in good conscience stand at the dispatch box and defend a level of investment I know to be inadequate to the task.

“A serious country funds its defence to meet the threat it actually faces, not the threat it wishes it faced.”

Al Carns has resigned as a defence minister, he has announced in a letter to the Prime Minister shared on social media, following John Healey’s exit as defence secretary.