Keir Starmer acts swiftly to appoint new Defence Secretary after shock John Healey resignation

Sir Keir Starmer has acted swiftly to appoint a new Defence Secretary after John Healey's shock resignation earlier today.Downing Street confirmed the Prime Minister had appointed ex-Security Minister Dan Jarvis to the top job this evening.He was catapulted into the role less than an hour after Armed Forces minister Al Carns quit from Government, putting an end to a day of bruising resignations in the Ministry of Defence.The Barnsley North MP was Labour's Security Minister for almost two years in the Home Office. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Mr Jarvis, a former Army officer, was originally elected as an MP back in 2011 and became the first Mayor of South Yorkshire in 2018, later becoming Labour's Shadow Security Minister in September 2023.Following the latest appointment to his top team, the Prime Minister said he would give our Armed Forces the capabilities they need to defend Britain and keep our nation secure.He added: 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 meeting 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.Mr Healey triggered a day of revolt against Sir Keir earlier today after the Yorkshire MP quit as Defence Secretary, ripping into a lack of funding allocated to the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP).The MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough accused Sir Keir and the Treasury team of failing to secure sufficient resources to protect Britain.Earlier in the evening, Mr Healey's Parliamentary Private Secretary also quit her frontbench role in another damning resignation over the state of Britain's defence spending.LABOUR LATEST:Keir Starmer rocked by third resignation as Labour 'dark horse' quits over Armed Forces 'failure'Al Carns's resignation letter – read in full as Armed Forces Minister quits hours after John HealeyThere's a simple reason those close to John Healey like myself weren't surprised by his sudden resignationPamela Nash, who was elected as the Labour MP for Motherwell, Wishaw Carluke, told Sir Keir that Labour must do better.Mr Carns tendered his resignation shortly after, accusing the Prime Minister of asking our Armed Forces to operate in a more dangerous world on a budget written for a calmer one.His criticism of the DIP echoed that of the former Defence Secretary, who described Sir Keir and his Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, of being unwilling to supply adequate funding to Britain's defences.He wrote: The excellent and extensive cross-government work that completed in January – overseen by you, me and the Chancellor – confirmed the scale of the challenge and the rising demands on defence.“Since then, 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 said that demands on defence have increased still further, citing the Iran war and escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war.Mr Healey's resignation over the repeatedly delayed defence plan has heaped pressure on the Labour chief just days before Mr Burnham's crunch by-election in Greater Manchester.Sir Keir previously vowed to boost British defence to 3.5 per cent of GDP, just like Nato. However, last year, the UK splashed only 2.4 per cent on defence.The new defence plan, according to Mr Healey, allocated a mere 0.08 boost to the current spending. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter