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Vincent McAviney: UK Correspondent on John Healey's resignation as Defence Secretary · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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  Speaker 1: Vincent Mecaviny is with me now. Good morning, Vincent, Good morning. Okay,
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  Speaker 1: so tell us what is happening. Defense Secretary John Healey
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  Speaker 1: has resigned from Keirstalmer's government. He has said that the
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  Speaker 1: defense investment plan falls short.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, this is a huge blow to Sakir Stamer's government
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  Speaker 2: because John Healey is someone who's respected pretty much across
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  Speaker 2: the Labor Party and it has to be said there
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  Speaker 2: in tributes from people across politics here because he was
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  Speaker 2: seen as someone who was a calm and competent defense
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  Speaker 2: secretary at a time of real geopolitical risk. But he
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  Speaker 2: has resigned from the government after a much delayed spending
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  Speaker 2: plan was sort of presented to him on Monday from
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  Speaker 2: Treasury officials and he simply says that it does not
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  Speaker 2: provide enough funding in order to raise the UK's spending
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  Speaker 2: as a percentage of GDP to about three percent over
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  Speaker 2: the next couple of years and sufficiently supply the British
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  Speaker 2: military and armed forces with all the equipment that it
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  Speaker 2: needs in such a dangerous world. So the Prime Minister
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  Speaker 2: has responded acknowledging the letter, saying he doesn't agree that
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: the spending is not up to the levels needed, but
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  Speaker 2: he still hasn't found anyone yet to replace him, it seems,
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  Speaker 2: as Defense secretary in the cabinet, so that position currently vacant.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: Okay, all eyes are on what Trump is saying he's
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: going to do, Enna is doing, and we've just had
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  Speaker 1: a new social message from him saying that he has
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  Speaker 1: canceled the scheduled strikes and bombings against around this evening.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. There was a bit of a deep
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  Speaker 2: irony in the man who won the inaugural FIFA Peace
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  Speaker 2: Prize announcing that he was going to do these huge
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  Speaker 2: strikes on the opening night of the World Cup in
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  Speaker 2: North America. But it seems he's rowed back from that.
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  Speaker 2: He says, now a deal is very close and it's
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  Speaker 2: being looked at by the highest levels of Iranian authority.
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  Speaker 2: But we have been I mean, I have done this
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  Speaker 2: report several times over the past couple of weeks of
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  Speaker 2: Donald Trump saying a deal is very close, and yet
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  Speaker 2: nothing happens, because the Iranians know the longer they can
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  Speaker 2: drag this out, the more damage it does to the
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  Speaker 2: West and particularly to Donald Trump's chances in those midterm elections.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: In November, Vincent Thank you so much for your time
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: this morning, Have a great weekend. For more from Early
• 2:08
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• 2:11
  Speaker 1: be from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.