Published: 04:02 PM, 16 June 2026
Dan Jarvis Wants to Reorganize Britain's Military Spending Plans
Britain's new Defence Secretary is to revisit a controversial plan for funding the armed forces and may return to demand more cash from the Treasury, allies have said.
Multiple government sources said Dan Jarvis would look to "reprioritize" aspects of the defence investment plan (DIP), which was delayed until July after the resignation of John Healey following a disagreement over its funding, reports the Guardian.
An ally of Jarvis said he would have a strong hand in future negotiations with Keir Starmer, who is facing a possible leadership challenge from Andy Burnham. "They can't sack him [Jarvis] or let him resign," the ally said.
John Healey resigned as defence secretary a few days ago, saying he would not accept a Dip settlement that did not "give our forces the resources they need". He accused the Treasury of being unwilling to provide the funds "to defend the country at this time of rising threats". Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, said discussions about the Dip were "ongoing" and that her department was among those still in conversation with the Treasury about finding further sums to fund defence. But other senior sources said there were likely to be tweaks "within the Dip" rather than offers of extra cash, suggesting that Jarvis might be able to free up money by axing projects Healey had been unwilling to cut. Sources close to Healey suggested tweaks to the Dip would miss the point - and that the major concern should be the lack of a plan for spending to reach 3% of GDP by 2030.
Overnight, the Royal Marines seized a Russia-linked shadow fleet oil tanker in the Channel. Though the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the operation was months in the planning, the seizure was accompanied by combative rhetoric from Starmer.
"Another bad day to be Vladimir Putin," the prime minister said, as he posted a video of the capture on social media.
