John Healey and Al Carns praised by ex-Security Minister for 'showing backbone' against Keir Starmer

Following Mr Healey's resignation as Defence Secretary, Al Carns also resigned as Armed Forces Minister, telling GB News he had been considering his departure "for a long time".

He said: "I know what the Armed Forces need, and I also know how to challenge the Armed Forces in some preconceived ideas of what they think they need, and I wasn't included in that, and I was pretty grumpy about it."

Reacting to the double defence exit, Mr Tugendhat told GB News that Sir Keir "simply cannot make a decision that keeps Britain safe".

He said: "John Healey is a man of integrity. He's a man who has put defence first for six years, four years in opposition and two years in Government, and in the letter, he couldn't make it clearer.

"He says the Prime Minister is unable and the Treasury is unwilling to protect our country. Those words are damning on their own."

Praising the decision made by both Mr Healey and Mr Carns, the MP argued: "Effectively, what the Prime Minister did was he asked the Defence Secretary, he asked the Minister of Armed Forces, Alcan, to preside over the death of the Royal Navy.

"And they both said no - finally, somebody who's got a backbone."

Mr Tugendhat accused the Prime Minister of "hanging out our troops to dry" with his current stance on Britain's defence.

He explained: "It's deeply insulting to the men and women who are serving and Al Carns, who I served with in Afghanistan at various different points makes it extremely clear in his letter.

"So I don't understand what Keir Starmer thinks he's doing, because whatever it is, he's not defending Britain and he's hanging up our troops out to dry."

Mr Tugendhat highlighted that the Government is "spending £50billion a year more on welfare today than we were before Covid".

He stressed: "We're spending more on Net Zero in one country where we generate 0.7 per cent of global carbon emissions.

"This is ridiculous, we're simply cutting off our noses despite our face and it's absolutely absurd.

"What we should be doing is investing in our country, and instead, what do we see from the Treasury today? £4.5billion on bike lanes. Well, you know what? You can cycle up the coast and you can watch the Russians cutting our cables.

"You can see the Russian submarines destroying our capability to communicate, and then you can cycle back to the city and you can enjoy the candlelight, because frankly, that's what this Government is preparing for."

Questioned on the appointment of new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis, Mr Tugendhat admitted that although he is a good friend of Mr Jarvis, he has "no idea what he thinks he signed up for".

He told GB News: "Dan's a very old friend, we served together in combat in Afghanistan. He was very brave in the field, he was a great commander. I have no idea what he thinks he signed up for.

"Because, frankly, John Healey has made this completely clear, any support coming for the armed forces is coming in two to three years' time, and as Keir Starmer made absolutely plain in his own speeches, we are expecting Russia to be aggressive towards Nato by 2030.

"So this Defence Investment Plan is too little, too late, and the Defence Secretary resigned himself over it.

"So frankly, I haven't got a clue what they think they're doing. It's a joke already, and we simply cannot equip a navy, let alone an army and an air force with what's promised."