The UK’s most senior military officer has warned that the armed forces will have to “dial back” training and operations unless the Treasury provides more cash – a stark assessment that came as former defence secretary John Healey accused the government of letting enemies “follow timetables set by the Treasury”.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, chief of the defence staff, told the Lords International Relations and Defence Committee on Tuesday that he is “most concerned” about the level of funding for day-to-day military activities. “We’ll have to dial back our activities – our exercise, operational activity – if the level of resource funding that is available to us does not increase,” he said, referring to military activity in Europe, Ukraine and the Middle East.
“UK defence chief warns armed forces will 'dial back' operations unless Treasury provides more cash, as Healey resigns.”
His warning came in the same week Healey resigned as defence secretary, claiming the government’s proposed cash settlement “would reduce the readiness of our Forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations”. In a blistering Commons statement on Tuesday, Healey told MPs: “At this dangerous time, I see the current defence investment plans falling well short of what is required, a rise at 0.08% from next year to 2030, no date for reaching 3%, no path to 3.5%.” He added: “Our adversaries do not follow timetables set by the Treasury.”
The government has committed to increasing defence spending to 3.5% of national income by 2035, in line with Nato allies, but Healey said the UK needs to be spending 3% of GDP by 2030. He warned that “by 2030, well over half of Nato members will be spending 3% or more. And when allies are looking for British leadership, we must not fall behind.”
Knighton echoed Healey’s concerns, noting that while capital budgets for defence had increased significantly, day-to-day revenue spending had not. He told peers that 20 years ago the split between resource spending and capital spending was about 80/20; today it is about 60/40, and on current projections it will be 50/50 by 2030. Meanwhile, key costs such as aviation fuel have soared.
Behind the scenes, it has emerged that Healey was privately pushing for the UK to join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), an international investment bank spearheaded by Canada that aims to help member countries fund defence projects at low costs. Allies of Healey claim the Treasury tried to shut down negotiations for UK membership. The DSRB is expected to be officially launched at a Nato summit next month. Membership would come with an upfront investment cost of around £870m spread over three years. Healey believed joining could have helped bridge a funding gap as well as supporting British businesses in the defence sector.
In his resignation letter, Healey said there were “credible ways” to fund extra defence spending, including “working multi-nationally”. A government spokesperson said they were exploring setting up a “multilateral defence mechanism” with Finland, the Netherlands and others “to improve value for money”. Treasury sources, however, claimed Healey never submitted an official request for funding related to the UK’s membership of the DSRB.
Sir Keir Starmer, speaking at the G7 summit in France, insisted he had already produced the biggest increase in spending since the 1980s. But Healey said the prime minister’s offer of around £10bn in additional money was about £18bn less than what military chiefs had reportedly asked for. The Defence Investment Plan, due to be published last week, has been delayed further following Healey’s resignation. New defence secretary Dan Jarvis is currently reviewing how the money will be spent, but there has been no suggestion from No 10 that extra cash will be found.
Healey, who resigned last Thursday, told MPs: “My decision last week was about our country, not career.” Armed forces minister Al Carns also quit, describing the Defence Investment Plan as “inadequate”. He pointed out that 90% of casualties in Ukraine are from drones, asking: “What will it take to realise these figures are not fiction? … That is the maths of modern war.”
The warnings leave the government facing a growing crisis over defence funding, with the nation’s top military officer openly saying operations will be scaled back – a prospect that, as Healey put it, comes when “our adversaries do not follow timetables set by the Treasury.”