Keir Starmer scrambles to find more defence cash after resignations by slashing other public services

Keir Starmer scrambles to find more defence cash after resignations by slashing other public services Keir Starmer, who is scrambling to find more money to fund military spending after two defence ministers resigned last week, will head to the G7 summit in France on Monday Keir Starmer is scrambling to find more money to fund military spending after two defence ministers resigned last week. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed Government departments are looking at further cutting their budgets to help fund defence. The PM will on Monday travel to the G7 Summit in France where he faces awkward meetings with world leaders including Donald Trump as his defence plans unravel at home. John Healey dramatically resigned as Defence Secretary on Thursday, while Armed Forces minister Al Carns quit hours later. Two ministerial aides in the department also followed them out the door. Ms Nandy on Sunday said the new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis, an Army veteran who served in the Parachute Regiment in Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan, “would not have taken the job unless he felt that we could meet this moment”. She said: “We are working together constructively in order to achieve that. It's not an easy thing, as I outlined, and certainly not something that the last government managed to come anywhere close to achieving. "But the Prime Minister has been absolutely crystal clear, this is the first responsibility of any government and we have to rise to meet this moment.” She refused to pre-empt the still-unpublished Defence Investment Plan but replied “yes” when asked by BBC ’s Laura Kuenssberg if talks were happening to increase the amount of money behind the plan. She added to Sky News: “There’s a clear picture emerging from this Government that we have moved resources from other departments in order to fund defence, that includes mine and it includes other departments as well, and we’re continuing to do that. “So defence remains the highest priority, and I don’t agree that we’re not committing the resources that we need. But when the threat level changes, when the global situation changes, we have to change our approach as well.” Ms Nandy disagreed with Mr Healey’s claim that the Prime Minister failed to commit the cash the country needed to defend itself at a time of rising threats. In a blistering resignation letter, Mr Healey last week accused the PM of not standing up to the Treasury, which he claimed was unwilling to commit the funds needed to defend the nation. And he said the DIP "falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time". The Mirror understands Mr Healey felt a 0.08% increase in defence spending committed in the plan was not sufficient to end years of hollowing out of Britain's armed forces. He believed the uplift would amount to an extra £10billion over four years, with military chiefs said to think a £13.5billion pledge from the government was Treasury trickery. In his first interview since his promotion, Mr Jarvis told the Sunday Telegraph he was working through the DIP details and that he is “absolutely determined to make sure that we deliver for defence”. He said: “It’s a moment of challenge. It’s the responsibility of our Government to rise to meet the moment of that challenge, and that is what I will be working to achieve." Andy Burnham - who is expected to try to replace Keir Starmer if he is re-elected as an MP in Thursday's Makerfield by-election - over the weekend said he would not be “squeamish” about reducing the welfare bill to fund defence spending. The Greater Manchester mayor said “the world has changed” and it was “obvious” the Government would have to adjust its assumptions about defence spending in response. At the three-day G7 summit in Evian, Mr Starmer will be speaking to counterparts about a number of global challenges, from the war in Ukraine to the conflict in the Middle East. This will include discussions on restoring freedom of navigation to the vital shipping lane the Strait of Hormuz, as well as talks on further sanctions on Russia and military support for Ukraine. A Downing Street spokesman said: “The world is more dangerous today than it has ever been in our lifetime. We are facing wars on two fronts, the rapid acceleration of technology and the deterioration of global order.” On Sunday, the PM welcomed his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi to Downing Street. Speaking before his meeting with her, Mr Starmer said: “We have the G7 starting tomorrow. We have lots of issues to discuss in a volatile world, but to be doing that with you and where we share values, approach, thinking, and where our countries are working ever more closely together is a real privilege for me.”