UK defence secretary resigns over military spending
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 11 June 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Britain's defence secretary, John Healey, has resigned, accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to commit the resources needed to protect the nation from rising threats. Mr Healey said a long-delayed investment plan fell well short of what was required to bring defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 - a NATO target. He highlighted Mr Starmer's recent warning that Russia could attack the alliance as soon as that year.
Also: Iran says its ceasefire with the US is now practically meaningless after a second night of airstrikes. Pope Leo is visiting the Canary Islands and meeting migrants who survived the Atlantic crossing to reach Spanish territory. With the World Cup about to kick off in Mexico City, we get a look behind the scenes at the Azteca Stadium. Australia begins a huge inquiry into unsolved murders and disappearances. New research reveals that people have a natural tendency to veer to the left when walking. And we hear about one woman’s mission to spot every butterfly species in Denmark - and what she discovered along the way.
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Photo: John Healey, who has resigned as Britain's defence secretary, delivering a speech at an event in May
Credit: PA
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
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| 0:21.4 | Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:24.1 | This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:30.1 | I'm Charlotte Gallagher, and at 15 hours, GMT, on Thursday, the 11th of June, these are our main stories. |
| 0:37.2 | The UK's Defence Secretary resigns, |
| 0:39.5 | saying a plan put forward by Kirstama |
| 0:41.8 | could make the country less safe. |
| 0:44.4 | Iran says the ceasefire with the US |
| 0:46.2 | is now practically meaningless. |
| 0:48.7 | Is there any hope for an imminent peace deal? |
| 0:53.6 | Also in this podcast, we take you behind the scenes as the World Cup is about to kick off. |
| 1:00.0 | It is resplendent. It is amazing. It looks completely ready. The pitch is pristine. The seats are |
| 1:08.3 | incredible. |
| 1:18.3 | We begin in Britain, where the man in charge of the country's defence has announced his sudden resignation from the government. |
| 1:20.7 | In a letter to the Prime Minister, John Healy said he was proud of what the Labour government |
| 1:24.9 | had achieved in the past two years in terms of defence |
| 1:28.0 | commitments. But the Prime Minister and the Treasury had failed to provide the money the nation |
| 1:32.9 | needs to defend itself. Our UK political correspondent Rob Watson told me why John Healy is |
... |
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