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France 24
France 24
Gavin LEE

UK Defence spending under scrutiny as former minister warns "Putin will be watching this carefully"

Cover image: © France 24

When he came into office, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that the first duty of a leader is to keep the country safe. His defence secretary, John Healey, resigned this week, telling his boss that he was making the country less safe. It was a stinging letter, claiming Sir Keir was unable to make the financial commitments needed to defend the country against the spectre of a Russian attack. A second defence minister, Al Cairns, also resigned for the same reasons.They had both seen a long-delayed British Defence Plan, which has still not been made public. France 24’s Gavin Lee speaks to Tobias Ellwood, a former Conservative MP and former chair of the Defence Select Committee.

Produced by Gavin Lee, Alessandro Xenos, Maya Yataghene and Guillaume Gougeon

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