WATCH: Kemi Badenoch speaks to GB News after police conference speech
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Kemi Badenoch told GB News that John Healey must resign if his imminent Budget fails to deliver Labour’s defence-spending promises.
The Chancellor will set out his plans for the British economy next week, with pledges to meet Nato spending targets expected to be delayed until late next year.
Mr Healey previously resigned as Sir Keir Starmer’s Defence Secretary, saying he was frustrated that the Government was failing to raise defence spending to three per cent of GDP by 2030.
In an explosive resignation letter, he said the then-Prime Minister had been “unable” and the Treasury “unwilling” to “commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats”.
However, as Andy Burnham’s Chancellor, he appears set to delay a major increase in defence spending until sometime next year.
“John Healey resigned because Keir Starmer wasn’t giving him enough money to get to 3 per cent by 2030,” Mrs Badenoch said.
“As Chancellor, if he cannot do this job, then he should resign.
“If not, they should call a general election because defence of the realm is the first duty of Government,” the Conservative leader said.
Mrs Badenoch accused Labour of failing to fund the armed forces while presiding over a struggling economy, as Britain’s national security faced growing threats.
“Our national security is under threat, and Labour are just frozen. They’re not able to fund our defence. They’re not growing the economy,” she said.
The Tory leader pointed to reports that Russia was spying on undersea cables and that vulnerabilities were growing in the High North as evidence that Britain needs to strengthen its defences.
“We need to pay for our defence because if we don’t, then we’re not going to have a welfare system or all of the nice things,” she said.
“If we get attacked, and we can see countries like Russia and Iran are getting bolder, we need to get ready.”
“We saw the attack on RAF Fairford. We can see that things are changing. We need to get ready,” she declared.
Yesterday, Counterterror police re-arrested two men amid the ongoing investigation into the incident at the base, including a dual UK-Iranian national, on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
The country to which the investigation relates is Iran, police confirmed
At the same time, MPs have warned that Britain must fill “glaring gaps” in its ability to defend the Arctic from Russian incursions.
On security and the growing Russian threat, Mrs Badenoch savaged comments from US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
While in St Petersburg to press for a peace deal in the Ukraine war started by Moscow’s invasion, the American diplomat called the Russian leader a “humanitarian”.
“I think it is a disgraceful thing to say,” Mrs Badenoch said, adding: “Let’s not forget that we have the Salisbury poisonings on our soil not that long ago. That was Vladimir Putin.
“I think it is extraordinary that a representative of the US would say those words. I’ve never heard anyone from a US administration use words like that about Russia.
“It’s no excuse to say that they got someone freed from prison over that.
The Conservative Leader said the words sent a “signal that America is getting weaker”.
“They’ve had prisoners freed without having to kowtow to Russia like that. I thought those comments were disgraceful.”
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