Delays, departures and drama cloud UK defence programmes ahead of absent DIP
John Healey’s departure as UK Secretary of State for Defence casts doubt over future procurement. (Photo: UK MoD/Crown Copyright)
The UK defence secretary’s departure suggests that the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan is unlikely to meet the funding demands of the armed forces, with consequences for procurement and the UK’s standing at a NATO summit weeks away.
John Healey’s resignation as defence secretary on 11 June 2026 has sent shockwaves through Westminster, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the defence industrial base. In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Healey declared that the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) – the government’s mechanism for translating the 2025 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) into funded programmes – “falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time”.
Within hours of Healey’s departure, Dan Jarvis MBE MP was appointed as Secretary of State for Defence. His appointment introduces uncertainty as he inherits a funding dispute
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