Camilla Tominey grills Labour chair over John Healey's ‘abject hypocrisy’ on defence spending: ‘Why hasn’t he resigned?!’

In June, Mr Healey resigned as Defence Secretary in protest over the Treasury's failure to provide the cash needed to meet the UK’s security commitments.

In his resignation letter, he said then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer had been unable, and then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves was “unwilling”, to commit the resources required to defend the country.

However, now serving as Chancellor under Andy Burnham, Mr Healey is not expected to include the commitment in his plans.

The Chancellor is said to have deferred the increase until next year’s spending review, with defence spending currently projected to reach around 2.7 per cent of GDP by 2030.

Camilla took Ms Phillipson to task over the discrepancy, questioning how the Chancellor could seemingly renege on his own principled resignation.

“He resigned over not getting to 3 per cent by 2030. Now he’s happy to get to 3 per cent by 2035 because he’s in a more powerful job and he’s got a pay rise, and it’s another notch on his CV.

Camilla Tominey grilled Labour's Bridget Phillipson over defence spending in John Healey's upcoming budget

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“This is abject hypocrisy from the Chancellor, isn’t it? Why hasn't he resigned?

“He's not going to meet three per cent of GDP pledged by 2030. The Prime Minister admitted in the House of Commons that the ambition is now a pathway to 2035. So why is John Healey still in his post?”

Ms Phillipson did not address the accusation of hypocrisy. Instead, she launched a defence of Labour’s record on defence.

She insisted that the upcoming spending review would provide an opportunity to set out the path to hitting military spending targets.

The Chancellor has previously resigned as Defence Secertary in protest over a lack of armed forces spending

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“This Labour government is investing more in defence than at any time since the Cold War,” she said.

“We are serious about investing in defence, given all of the threats that we see internationally,” the Equalities minister stressed.

“I think you can judge us by our record in terms of the Defence Investment Plan and also the record levels of investment that we're putting into it.”

Camilla then challenged the Labour chair on accusations from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch that the Government was growing the nation’s benefits bill while refusing to meet defence targets.

The Labour Chair insisted that Labour was 'investing more in defence than at any time since the Cold War'

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“I put it to you that if the Pip benefit bill is going up by 19 billion and John Healey isn't going to meet the three per cent of GDP target, then you are prioritising welfare over warfare. That's a perfectly fair criticism that you must accept,” she said.

“The threats that we face are grave, and this is really a perilous time for our country,” Ms Phillipson acknowledged before launching an attack on the Tory defence record.

“However, I'm not really sure I want to hear the advice of Kemi Badenoch on this topic, given that they never reached the Nato level when they were in government.

“In fact, it was under the last Labour government that we delivered it. They hollowed out the armed forces. They didn't invest in our defence. We are now,” she insisted.