Keir Starmer latest: PM shaken to core after two defence ministers quit with devastating attack

Keir Starmer latest: PM shaken to core after two defence ministers quit with devastating attack Keir Starmer's position as Prime Minister has become more precarious after his armed forces minister spectacularly quit just hours following the defence secretary's resignation Keir Starmer’s government has been shaken to its core after two esteemed defence ministers resigned with devastating criticism of military spending plans.The PM was dealt a significant blow on Thursday after the shock resignation of Defence Secretary John Healey, triggering a crisis in the Ministry of Defence.Hours later Al Carns, a former Royal Marine, quit as Armed Forces Minister with a withering broadside criticising "inadequate" defence funding. Pamela Nash, a ministerial aide in the department, also resigned tonight, and Rachel Hopkins, another aide, walked out.Ministers have been locked in a tense battle over how to fund the long-awaited defence investment plan (DIP), which is already more than six months late. In his blistering resignation letter, Mr Healey accused the PM of not standing up to the Treasury, which he claimed was unwilling to commit the funds needed to defend the nation Business Secretary Peter Kyle on Friday morning insisted the DIP is not in “tatters” and is “being developed”. Asked if it was in “tatters”, he told Times Radio: “The plan is being developed. We are determined to get it right. We are talking about an enormous amount of money going into defence at a period of time where we have to modernise the way we think about defence, but also make sure that we do so in a way that benefits British jobs. This is highly complex.”Mr Starmer has vowed to promise the plan by the NATO summit on July 7. Key Events The UK economy contracted by 0.1 per cent in April, the Office for National Statistics said. Business Secretary Peter Kyle said he was not “blindly loyal” to Sir Keir Starmer but the Prime Minister had earned his support. Mr Kyle told Sky News: “It is a purpose that brought me into politics, not a person. “That purpose is to get growth into our economy, to make sure the hard work is rewarded anybody who should get on in life and has the aptitude to get on in life and the approach to get on in life should be able to be rewarded for it. “We need to make sure we have a country that is respected around the world, and public services that are there for everyone, because they’re too often not. “This is the mission that I came into politics in order to deliver and Keir Starmer has delivered on these things. “He has earned my loyalty. I’m not blindly loyal to him. He has earned my loyalty, because we are aligned in the purpose of this government.” Dan Jarvis has been appointed as the new Defence Secretary after John Healey's bombshell resignation. The Security Minister was handed the top Cabinet post nearly nine hours after Mr Healey quit with a blistering takedown of the Government's defence spending plans. His shock departure triggered a crisis in the Ministry of Defence, with Armed Forces Minister Al Carns following him out of the door. Mr Carns told the PM he could not defend “a level of investment I know to be inadequate to the task”. Ministerial aides Pamela Nash and Rachel Hopkins are also said to have quit tonight. READ MORE: Dan Jarvis appointed Defence Secretary hours after John Healey's shock resignation Business Secretary Peter Kyle has insisted Keir Starmer has shown “remarkable purpose” in his approach to increasing defence spending. He pointed to the resignation of Anneliese Dodds as International Development minister last year over cuts to foreign aid to fund defence.Mr Kyle told Sky News the Government will increase defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP in the early period of the next Parliament and 3.5 per cent by 2035.He also said any increases to spending needed to be funded responsibly, adding: “If we did it in a way that was irresponsible, then you'd end up impacting the growth of our economy and it would be a zero sum game. It would be fool's gold if we did so in an irresponsible way. We are doing it in a responsible way that drives growth into our economy.“And also, don't forget, we are designing a highly complex plan and we want to make sure it benefits British jobs, British businesses so that it builds the resilience of our economy as well as the resilience of our defence. These are highly, highly challenging things.“And the Prime Minister, you know, has led through this in a steadfast way since the start. Don't forget, last year somebody resigned from Cabinet simply because of the way that he was increasing and the speed and the manner in which he was increasing money in defence. So these are challenging things, and he has shown quite remarkable purpose in the way that he's done.” Keir Starmer was dealt another blow after his Armed Forces minister resigned - hours after the departure of the Defence Secretary. Al Carns, a former Royal Marine, quit his post with a withering broadside 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 shock resignation of Defence Secretary John Healey, triggering a crisis in the Ministry of Defence. Pamela Nash, a ministerial aide in the department, also resigned tonight, and Rachel Hopkins, another aide, is believed to have walked. In his resignation letter to the Prime Minister, 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." READ MORE: Keir Starmer faces fresh blow as Al Carns becomes second defence minister to quit Defence Secretary John Healey dramatically quit in a hammer blow to Keir Starmer on Thursday. Mr Healey lashed out at the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves - saying long-delayed plans for military investment would leave the armed forces vulnerable and make Britain less safe. In a blistering resignation letter, Mr Healey accused the PM of not standing up to the Treasury, which he claimed was unwilling to commit the funds needed to defend the nation. This was despite the growing threat of a Russian attack, he wrote. It comes as ministers are locked in a tense battle over how to fund the long-awaited defence investment plan (DIP), which is already more than six months late. READ MORE: Defence Secretary John Healey quits over military spending plans in huge blow to Keir Starmer