To lose one defence minister might be regarded as misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness. Al Carns has followed John Healey out of the door at the Ministry of Defence tonight, firing off a two-page letter that makes his disagreements with Keir Starmer clear. The only mystery about Carns’s resignation was why it didn’t come sooner. ‘It’s surprising he’s lasted this long,’ says one Labour aide.

The only mystery of Carns’s resignation was why it didn’t come sooner

The only mystery of Carns’s resignation was why it didn’t come sooner

Unlike Healey, Carns is neither a Treasury man nor a Labour loyalist. Appointed as the veterans’ minister within days of his election as an MP, Carns, a distinguished former Royal Marines officer, has long signalled his profound discomfort at the direction of government........

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