UK Armed Forces Minister Alistair Carnes has resigned, becoming the second senior defense official to quit the Starmer government in a day. According to Israeli media reports citing British sources, Carnes cited inadequate defense investment and failure to implement necessary reforms to meet security threats. The resignation follows Defence Secretary John Healey's departure yesterday.
UK Armed Forces Minister Alistair Carnes has resigned this morning, citing the government's failure to adequately fund defense and implement necessary reforms, according to reports from Israeli media citing British sources. The resignation comes less than 24 hours after Defence Secretary John Healey quit yesterday over the same issue — the government's spending plans.
As The Zioneer reported, Healey resigned on June 11 at 14:43 Jerusalem time, saying the government's spending plans "fall short of what is needed at this time." Hours later at 22:45, The Zioneer reported Carnes's resignation — a second high-profile departure from the Ministry of Defence. Overnight, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed Dan Jarvis, previously the security minister, as the new defense secretary.
Carnes's resignation letter reportedly echoes Healey's language: insufficient budget for the scale of threats facing Britain, and a reluctance in government to bear the political cost of genuine reform. The twin resignations represent the most serious political crisis for Starmer's government on defense policy since it took office.
No further resignations have been reported at this hour, and the government has not yet commented on Carnes's departure.
2 developments
- StrongUK Defense Secretary John Healey resigns over government spending plans
- DevelopingUK PM Starmer appoints Dan Jarvis as defense secretary after Healey resignation
- DevelopingIsrael's Katz accused of delaying key military attaché appointment for cronyism
- DevelopingBezalel Smotrich comments after new ceasefire violation in the North
Source and signal
- Internal intake