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Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey resigned on Thursday after clashing with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government over military spending, dealing a blow to the British leader just weeks before a crucial NATO summit involving President Donald Trump.
Healey’s departure comes as controversy over the delayed Defense Investment Plan (DIP) – the government’s long-promised roadmap for military investment and readiness – comes as NATO allies face new pressure from Trump to boost defense spending.
“John Healey’s resignation is a seismic moment for the government and the Ministry of Defence,” Ed Arnold, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told Fox News Digital.
“For the government, this creates a sequence of political headaches in terms of replacement, and trying to publish the defense investment plan.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer moves UK military to ‘war-fighting readiness’
Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey speaks to British and Norwegian marines at the unveiling of the Atlantic Bastion program in Portsmouth, Britain, on December 4, 2025. (Peter Nicholls/Pool via Reuters)
Hayley was in intensive, final-stage talks with Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves over the scale and timeline of the DIP.
Starmer reportedly refused to set a timeline for reaching 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense by 2035 – a promise he made to Trump at last year’s NATO summit – and would not commit to a specific date for reaching 3%.
Instead, Starmer offered Healey a deal to spend 2.68% of GDP on defense by 2030, only a modest increase from 2.6% the following year, Reuters reported.
“You have been unable to deliver the resources you need to defend the country, and the Treasury has been unwilling,” Healey wrote to Starmer in her resignation letter, telling the outlet that financial constraints would “make the country less safe”.
NATO chief urges members to ‘turbocharge’ defense production as he pictures world bound for war
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose with NATO country leaders during the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025. (Ben Stansell/Pool via Reuters)
“If delays to the Defense Investment Plan were already undermining the government’s credibility on defence, John Healey’s resignation has blown a hole in its side,” Professor Kevin Rowlands of the RUSI defense and security think tank told Fox News Digital.
He said, “The immediate consequence is not only political embarrassment for Number 10, but a significant loss of planning certainty at a time when the British armed forces, the Ministry of Defense and industry really need clarity on what will be funded and when.”
The political fallout is expected to spill across the Atlantic, where Washington has stepped up pressure on European allies to meet their defense obligations. Trump has often criticized NATO alliance members as “free riders”.
On June 3, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the upcoming Ankara summit would be “the most important meeting” in NATO history because there are some things “that need to be clarified and fixed.”
“The United States is still in the NATO alliance, and we will remain there,” he said.
Trump effect forces Germany to prioritize defense as nation steps up military spending
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer increased military presence in Cyprus following an Iranian drone attack on the morning of Monday, February 24, 2026. (Qin Cheung/Pool/AFP via Getty Images))
However, US officials have made it clear that patience is running out.
“Ahead of next month’s NATO summit, POTUS has made clear: Allies must meet their commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defense,” Matthew Whittaker, the US ambassador to NATO, posted on Twitter this week.
Additionally, a US official said a UK funding package far less than 18 billion pounds ($23 billion), according to The Times, would send an extremely “negative” signal to Trump ahead of the Ankara meeting.
Starmer has promised to increase spending by 3% in the next parliament, but Healey’s exit highlights that the current strategy leaves Britain behind key allies. By comparison, Germany plans to spend 3.7% of its GDP on defense by 2030.
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Rowlands said, “Healey knows the threats we face, he knows the capabilities and shortcomings of the armed forces, and if he believes the financial settlement is not enough to keep the country safe – to the extent that he can’t remain in office honorably – then we’re in trouble.”
“While the impact will be felt primarily in Whitehall, the international implications are severe with the NATO summit just three weeks away,” Arnold said.
