Former Defence Minister Al Carns has urged the UK government to increase funding for the Armed Forces, warning that failure to do so could lead to conflict on British soil. Carns, who resigned last week alongside Defence Secretary John Healey, emphasized the growing global threats faced by the country and called for greater investment in defense capabilities.

Speaking on the implications of recent defence funding decisions, Carns said the international environment is more perilous than ever before. Drawing on his experience as a former Royal Marines colonel and veteran of five tours in Afghanistan, he stressed the importance of preparedness to avoid being drawn into conflict. “We must avoid getting ourselves in an entanglement or conflict. But to avoid it you must prepare for it,” he said.

Carns cautioned that adversaries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, are closely monitoring Britain’s defence commitments. He suggested that inadequate funding sends a signal of diminished resolve, which could encourage miscalculations by hostile actors. “If we stop paying for it, our adversaries are emboldened, and they take a risk, then we end up in a miscalculation or a mistake, and then we end up in a conflict,” he remarked.

He criticized the government’s handling of defence financing following recent indications of insufficient military spending. Carns highlighted his resignation, alongside Healey’s, as a potential catalyst for renewed investment in defence, expressing hope that it might lead to a “revitalised Defence Investment Plan and a new funding settlement.”

While acknowledging Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as “a good man,” Carns called on him to adopt a more assertive stance on defence policy. He underscored the challenge of convincing the public to support increased defence expenditure—not out of a desire for war, but to prevent it.

Carns’ resignation came after his recent visit to Royal Navy personnel in Gibraltar, where he witnessed firsthand the demands placed on Britain’s armed forces. The former minister’s warnings reflect growing concerns within the military community regarding the government’s defence budget strategy amid heightened geopolitical tensions.