LONDON, June 11 (Reuters): British defence minister John Healey quit on Thursday over a months-long dispute over military spending, accusing ​Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to commit the resources that are needed to keep the country safe from mounting threats.

The resignation, accompanied by a scathing critique of the prime minister, is another indication that Starmer's authority is draining away and exposes a crisis at the heart of the government - how it can ramp up defence spending when there is little money to spare and the welfare budget keeps rising.

Healey, a previously loyal minister, had been locked in talks with Starmer and finance minister Rachel Reeves over how to meet the additional military spending needed, delaying Britain's Defence Investment Plan, which was due last year.

"You have ​been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country," Healey said in his letter to Starmer.

Starmer responded ​with a letter expressing regret at Healey's resignation and by appointing the security minister, Dan Jarvis, as defence secretary.

But around the same time ⁠as that appointment, a junior defence minister, Al Carns, also quit, saying the spending plans were "not built for the threat we face."

Photo from Reuters