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The Ministry of Defence has firmly denied its ministers have “split” while working on the long-overdue Defence Investment Plan (DIP).

The document, which was originally promised in the autumn, is still yet to be published by the government, but will allocate funding for investment in military production over the next decade. 

It is now thought it won’t be released until at least mid-May at the earliest, due to the local elections. 

This morning, MPs quizzed the armed forces minister about the DIP during a bill committee hearing in parliament.

Al Carns was pressed three times on whether he has actually seen the latest version of the plan, but each time he declined to say – leading to Tory MP Mark Francois calling his response a “non-denial denial”.

Carns ‘shut out’ of defence plan, say Tories

Speaking to Sky News, shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said: “It is extraordinary that armed forces minister Al Carns appears to have been shut out of the Defence Investment Plan.

“To be fair, he joins the rest of us – the DIP was promised for last autumn but there’s still no sign of it.”

The shadow cabinet minister added: “With war on two fronts, and Britain urgently needing to rearm, such delays are unacceptable.”

He accused the government of prioritising welfare over defence, and of being unable to get the plan “past the Treasury”.

Meanwhile, Defence Select Committee member Mike Martin told Sky News: “I just find it extraordinary.”

The Lib Dem MP continued: “I just wonder whether it suggests some kind of wider split within the team?”

He suggested that Carns – a former special forces colonel who was first elected in 2024 – could seek to prioritise defence over politics, compared to his fellow ministers, who have been Labour MPs for longer. 

But the Ministry of Defence has firmly rejected this suggestion – while refusing to say that Carns has seen the latest draft of the plan.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the MoD said: “These claims are untrue. 

“As you would expect,senior leadership across defence are involved in the development of the Defence Investment Plan and are working hard to finalise the plan.”