Defence Secretary and Armed Forces Minister Resign on Same Day

John Healey resigned as Defence Secretary on Thursday. Al Carns resigned as Armed Forces Minister the same day. Al Carns told GB News he had been considering his departure "for a long time". Hamish De Bretton-Gordon, a former Army Officer, spoke to GB News about the resignations.

He said the armed forces feel "completely let down" by the Prime Minister. De Bretton-Gordon said "the two most principal and honourable members of the Cabinet have now gone". He said the Government conducted a Strategic Defence review.

De Bretton-Gordon said the Defence Investment Plan is supposed to fund the Strategic Defence review. He declared it is "terribly sad" that the Government "is not prepared to fund defence". De Bretton-Gordon said "when it comes to responsibility, certainly some of the senior members in the Ministry of Defence should also show that they really care about the men and women who are in our armed forces, who are prepared to fight for this country".

De Bretton-Gordon expressed hope that the resignations will "convince the Prime Minister that funding defence is absolutely essential". He said funding must come "whether it comes from Ed Miliband's net zero bonanza or from the welfare budget". De Bretton-Gordon highlighted Al Carns's stance on the Northern Ireland Legacy Act.

He argued that the "hounding of British special forces" is "another detriment that seems to have been led by the current Government". De Bretton-Gordon said "we in the military are absolutely not above the law and try and follow it to the letter as we can". He added that "when your hair's been parted by an enemy bullet, sometimes the Human Rights Act is not the first thing that you think of".

De Bretton-Gordon said the Legacy Act "is just not balanced, it's not fair". De Bretton-Gordon said "we've got to make sure that they're not going to be hounded by human rights lawyers for things that happen on the battlefield".