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Politics Weekly UK

The defence secretary quits with ‘blistering’ criticism of Starmer

6/11/202612 min

The defence secretary has resigned over the government’s military spending plans, in another major blow for Keir Starmer. In a scathing letter to the prime minister, John Healey said the long-awaited defence investment plan ‘falls well short of what is required for defence’ and that he would have to take decisions that ‘could make Britain less safe’. Nosheen Iqbal speaks to policy editor Kiran Stacey. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod

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Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Nosheen Iqbal· Host0:00

    This is The Guardian.

  2. Kieran Stacey· Guest0:01

    Hello, this is Kieran Stacey. We had some big breaking news today because the Defense Secretary John Healey announced his resignation from Keir Starmer's cabinet. I spoke to Nosheen Iqbal for Today in Focus, the latest, and that is what you're going to hear now. [gentle music] The fact of the resignation is one thing, but the actual wording of the statement is so blistering. He said, "You are not as committed to defense as you claim, and you're actually putting our security at risk." Not only is he saying that Keir Starmer's not willing to do it, but he's unable to overrule his chancellor, so he's saying he's also weak. All of these things play into all of the doubts that Keir Starmer's critics have about him.

  3. Nosheen Iqbal· Host0:52

    From The Guardian's Today in Focus, this is The Latest with me, Nosheen Iqbal. Kieran Stacey, you're The Guardian's policy editor, and I don't want to make too many assumptions about our audience, but I think when a lot of people see the headline John Healey Resigns, they might then think, "Who?" [laughs] But this is a very big deal. Why?

  4. Kieran Stacey· Guest1:17

    Uh, well, first of all, John Healey was, until about an hour ago, the defense secretary. That's a pretty big job in itself.

  5. Nosheen Iqbal· Host1:23

    It's a big job.

  6. Kieran Stacey· Guest1:23

    Uh, he, it's true to say that he's probably one of the more low-key members of their, the cabinet. I've actually known him for quite a long time, and

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