Wes Streeting appointed UK defence secretary

Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham named former health minister Wes Streeting as defence secretary late Monday, the government said, as ministerial appointments continued into the night.

Streeting had left the health job in May, saying he had lost confidence in then-prime minister Keir Starmer. He had planned to challenge Burnham for the leadership of the ruling Labour Party before stepping aside.

After the appointment, Streeting wrote on X that keeping the country safe was the first duty of government. He said the government would make sure the armed forces had the resources they needed and would stand with international allies, especially Ukraine.

Streeting, 43, comes from a working-class background and is seen as being on the right of the centre-left party. He was a frequent media presence during the 2024 general election and raised his national profile while leading the department responsible for the National Health Service in England before resigning from that post.

He replaces John Healey, who was appointed finance minister on Monday. Healey had put pressure on Starmer the previous month when he stepped down as defence secretary and criticised the government's defence budget. In his resignation letter, Healey said Starmer had been unable, and the Treasury unwilling, to commit the resources needed to defend the country at a time of rising threats.