Keir Starmer urged to resign by Richard Tice in scathing GB News attack: 'Choosing welfare over warfare!'

Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have been urged to resign in a scathing takedown by Richard Tice.

Speaking to GB News, the Deputy Leader of Reform UK accused the Prime Minister of choosing "welfare over warfare", following the shocking resignation of ex-Defence Secretary John Healey.

Following Mr Healey's resignation, yesterday Al Carns resigned as Armed Forces Minister, telling GB News he had been considering his departure "for a long time".

He said: "I know what the Armed Forces need, and I also know how to challenge the Armed Forces in some preconceived ideas of what they think they need, and I wasn't included in that, and I was pretty grumpy about it."

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Hitting out at the Prime Minister following the double resignation, Mr Tice told GB News said the situation is "deeply shocking" for the Government.

He said: "When you read their two resignation letters, it's even more shocking. I urge your viewers and listeners to do that.

"John Healey said that the Prime Minister was unable - in other words, he's a puppet - and the Chancellor is unwilling to fund what is necessary to keep us safe. Literally, the Prime Minister is unable to keep us safe," he said.

Mr Tice highlighted the "devastating" remarks made by Mr Carns in his resignation letter, criticising the Government's delay on the Defence Investment Plan.

He said: "What was proposed in the long awaited and still not produced Defence Investment Plan is not enough.

"Nowhere near the three per cent that we've all been promised, that Reform has been saying is required since the general election.

"And then you look at Al Carns's letter, it's even more devastating when he says the Defence Investment Plan, which Al Carns had no involvement in despite being one of the most experienced veterans in parliament.

"He said that it's essentially been prepared for the last war, not the next war, that it's completely unfit for purpose. It's not built for the threat we face, and he said, we're not a serious country, that's devastating stuff."

The Reform deputy leader called on the Prime Minister to resign his leadership, alongside Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

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Mr Tice declared: "It's an absolutely eviscerating letter. This is an absolute indictment of Keir Starmer's leadership, and frankly, the Prime Minister should do what I urged him to do on Wednesday at PMQs and resign, and so should the Chancellor.

"He's not prepared to defend the country. The new Defence Secretary, Dan Jarvis, is going to try and pretend and bluster and waffle that the Defence Investment Plan when it's produced is good enough, when clearly from these letters it is not.

"It's woefully short on money and on what it plans to do, and we need a new Prime Minister."

Mr Tice suggested that the Labour Party should look to Al Carns as a possible replacement for Sir Keir.

He told GB News: "I think you should perhaps ask Al Carns, is he going to form part of a sort of leadership duo bid with John Healy, saying only they can keep the country safe? Only they know what needs to be done.

"There's plenty of money in order to fund the sums required - you could scrap net stupid zero, you could stop paying welfare to overseas nationals - between those two things that would save up £45billion a year."

Mr Tice accused Sir Keir of choosing "benefits over bullets", and "welfare over warfare".

He concluded: "Reform UK would properly fund our armed forces, properly protect them both when they're serving and after they've left, so that we would repeal any new legacy act that is put forward by this Government in order to provide that security for our brave veterans. That is absolutely essential."

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