Keir Starmer faces fresh blow as Al Carns becomes second defence minister to quit

Keir Starmer faces fresh blow as Al Carns becomes second defence minister to quit Keir Starmer has been dealt another blow after his Armed Forces minister resigned - following the departure of his Defence Secretary earlier today Keir Starmer has been dealt another blow after his Armed Forces minister resigned - hours after the departure of the Defence Secretary. Al Carns, a former Marine, resigned from his post after criticising "inadequate defence funding". He said the "machinery of government itself has been left to decay", hitting out at long delays to the Defence Investment Plan (DIP). It follows the devastating resignation of Defence Secretary John Healey today. Pamela Nash, a ministerial aide in the department, also resigned this evening. In his letter, Mr Carns said: “We ask soldiers to fight for this country, In return, we owe them the kit to do the job and the loyalty to stand by them when it's done. We are failing on both. "The same failure of seriousness runs through how this country treats the people it asks the most of, in uniform and out of it." He continued: "The machinery of government itself has been left to decay. Decisions that should take days, take months. Departments fight each other instead of the problem. Officials and ministers who know the truth are not always rewarded for telling it. We are trying to govern a more dangerous world with processes designed for a calmer one, and the gap is now showing in the things that matter most." It comes an hour after defence ministerial aide Ms Nash also resigned from her post, criticising the Government's "failure to be bold when it matters most". In a letter to the PM, the ex-Parliamentary Private Secretary said: "The delays and difficulties securing the necessary funding to progress the Defence Investment Plan has been the latest issue that is damaging the trust of the public in us. We saw this laid bare in last month's election results. Our Government's successes are consistently drowned out by mistakes and the failure to be bold when it matters most." In his blistering resignation letter, Mr Healey earlier today accused the PM of not standing up to the Treasury, which he claimed was unwilling to commit the funds needed to defend the nation. Ministers have been locked in a tense battle over how to fund the long-awaited DIP, which is already more than six months late. In his letter, Mr Healey said the plan - which he was shown on Monday - "falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time". It means the PM needs to find a new Defence Secretary just days before leaders of the G7 nations meet next week in Évian-les-Bains, France, and ahead of next month's crucial NATO summit. This is a Breaking News story. You’ll be more likely to see our stories when any big news breaks in future by simply by clicking this link . You can also join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News , TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage .