A former Special Forces officer who entered Parliament less than two years ago intends to parachute into Downing Street as Britain's next Prime Minister.

Al Carns, who was today practicing to jump over Normandy as part of D-Day anniversary celebrations, has told friends he 'isn't scared of the gunfire'.

The Armed Forces Minister is expected to join the battle to succeed Sir Keir Starmer following Health Secretary Wes Streeting's dramatic resignation earlier today.

According to defence sources, Carns, 46, will only declare his interest once a leadership contest begins having ruled out any attempt to topple the Prime Minister himself.  

On June 6th Carns will join veterans on a parachute jump to mark the 82nd anniversary of D-Day, the Allied landings during World War Two by British, American and Canadian forces.

In preparation for that jump Carns was today conducting rehearsals at the Airborne Delivery Wing (ADW) at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. 

Physically at least Carns towers over his rivals to become Britain’s next Prime Minister and his backstory is box office material.

The Selly Oak MP stands well over six feet and his broad shoulders convince anyone passing him along a narrow Commons corridor to step aside.

As Carns revealed recently on social media, his father abandoned the family home on a Scottish council estate and Carns joined the Royal Marines from school.

After earning his green beret, Carns transferred to the elite Special Boat Service (SBS) as an officer and he was decorated for gallantry in Afghanistan.

In July 2010 Carns earned a Military Cross (MC) on a Special Forces operation in Haji Wakil, Helmand Province, that nearly cost him his life. A Taliban round missed the Aberdonian by inches. 

A close colleague of Carns was less fortunate. Corporal Seth Stephens was killed in action. He received a posthumous Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC).

Following his brush with death Carns was widely expected to be fast-tracked to senior command positions - and to follow in the footsteps of another former Royal Marine, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the current First Sea Lord.

According to former colleagues, back then Carns rarely spoke of politics, let alone of ambitions to become Prime Minister. And he was certainly no socialist, few military officers are.

So they were surprised by his decision to retire from Special Forces, and even more surprised by his selection of Labour over the Conservatives.

As while there are exceptions, such as Home Office minister Dan Jarvis, most military officers seeking second careers in Westminster join the Tories.

Carns won his seat at the 2024 General Election, entering Parliament as a political novice with no record in local government or as a party apparatchik.

Should he succeed in his attempt to enter Downing Street, Carns’ rise from a broken home in the Highlands will represent an ascent even steeper than the slopes of Mount Everest – which he climbed last year as part of a record breaking team of British veterans.

Carns and his colleagues left London, flew to Nepal, summitted the world’s highest peak, descended and were back home for Sunday lunch within seven days. A staggering achievement by anyone’s standards.

Carns may count on his constituents’ support for his leadership bid but he has become a divisive figure among veterans.

As the Mail has reported, former service personnel have felt bitterly let down by Carns, someone they considered one of their own, someone they expected to fight their cause.

Carns has advanced the government’s hugely unpopular Troubles Bill which stripped away protections for veterans from vexatious prosecutions introduced as part of the last Conservative government’s Legacy Act.

Friends of Carns insist he has done his upmost behind the scenes to challenge Labour’s human rights agenda.

Whether he has or he has not, the Troubles Bill remains a tool for families of former paramilitaries to milk the legal system and traumatise elderly veterans over events that occurred half a century ago.

While last month Carns, by far the most senior veteran in government, missed a key vote on the Troubles Bill. 

At the time he was visiting Gulf states in his role as Armed Forces Minister. Critics suggested there may have been more to his diary clash than coincidence. 

The Legacy Act was championed by former Conservative Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer, once a brother in arms of Carns. They served together in Afghanistan and were close friends.

Mercer and Carns fell out over allegations currently the subject of a High Court inquiry that British Special Forces executed disarmed Taliban suspects in the warzone from 2010 to 2013.

When Mercer gave evidence to the Inquiry in February 2024, he was threatened with jail by a judge for refusing to identify individuals who told him about disturbing practices associated with the allegations, such as British troops placing weapons beside the bodies of executed Afghans for photographic purposes so it appeared that had armed when shot dead.

As the Mail revealed in December 2024, Carns was one of those sources. The Mail understands Mercer wanted Carns to come forward but he allegedly declined to do so. The Mail put that claim to Carns at the time but he declined to comment.

In his bid to climb to the highest position in British politics Carns’ military CV and Everest ascent will impress many outside the armed forces and he could appeal to voters beyond Labour’s reach.

And while Carns may not possess the political track record to warrant consideration as a future Prime Minister, he will not be found wanting for ambition.

Today Carns posted a picture of a sunrise on his Instagram account. A new dawn beckons for the former Special Forces officer perhaps.