UK Defence spending under scrutiny as former minister warns "Putin will be watching this carefully"
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
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.