Badenoch accuses Starmer of leaving defence spending 'mess' for Burnham

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has criticised what she called a missing £5bn in the defence investment plan, saying outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer was leaving a mess for his successor.

The long-awaited plan announced on Tuesday includes £15bn to boost the UK's defences, but Defence Minister Luke Pollard told the BBC the next chancellor will need to find an extra £4.7bn in this autumn's Budget to fund the proposals.

At PMQs, Badenoch asked whether Andy Burnham, who is widely expected to take over as PM on 20 July, had agreed to the plan.

Sir Keir accused Badenoch of "faux outrage" and said the Conservatives had reduced defence spending when in government.

The defence investment plan (DIP) was originally due last autumn and was promised before a Nato summit next week.

The plans for £15bn spending between now and 2030 are higher than the previously reported figure of £13.5bn - which led to the resignation of both ex-Defence Secretary John Healey and ex-Armed Forces Minister Al Carns in protest - but much lower than the £28bn reportedly requested by defence chiefs.

Picking up on the Treasury admission that only £10.3bn in savings had currently been identified, Badenoch said: "Meanwhile, Britain is spending it all on welfare.

"Even the limited plan he has announced has completely unravelled because he hasn't found the money to pay for it: it's £5bn short.

"We all know he is leaving this mess to his successor, so can he confirm that the MP for Makerfield has agreed to fund the shortfall?"

Sir Keir attacked the Tories for cutting defence spending when in power, saying: "I'm proud of this Labour government and any Labour prime minister would stand beside this plan."

Badenoch said that, in the past two years, the UK had only increased spending by 0.01% compared to allies.

"We can count, the general can count, the Kremlin can count. His plan doesn't add up," she said.

Sir Keir said military chiefs had welcomed the DIP, and and Chancellor Rachel Reeves' budget had allowed for £22bn of headroom for extra spending commitments.

Burnham is widely expected to replace Reeves as chancellor if he becomes PM, with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband seen as the front-runner to step into the crucial role.

Earlier on Wednesday, Pollard told BBC Breakfast the next chancellor "whoever that may be" will have to "find the resources" in their autumn Budget.

"Just over £4bn will be set out in the autumn Budget," he said.

"Of course, this is pretty standard fare for the government to make an announcement and set out the details at the forthcoming budget.

"The last government did it a number of times."

He said he was a "big supporter" of Burnham and hoped he would become prime minister, but also revealed that the former Greater Manchester mayor had only been told about the £4.7bn defence funding gap on Tuesday.

"Downing Street have a close dialogue with Andy's team … I understand they've been keeping him close to the process, and told him yesterday when the Treasury published the statement and the breakdown of the financial costs," he told Sky News.

Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said there would have to be "conversations" with the next prime minister about funding the armed forces, but insisted it was "not unreasonable" to set out those plans at a "major fiscal event" like the next Budget.

Speaking to reporters on a visit to missile manufacturer Cambridge Aerospace, Jarvis said: "I will want to do more and go further, and it's my job, working with the chiefs, to make sure that we secure the resource, the investment that we need into defence to honour the commitments that we have made, which I am absolutely determined that we will keep."

Burnham has yet to comment on where he will find the extra money - or whether he would be open to increasing the defence budget further.

One Burnham ally told the BBC the funding gaps in Tuesday's defence plan were "another spending pressure" he will have to face.

Under the plans, overall defence spending will rise from 2.6% of national income in 2027 to 2.7%, or nearly £80bn, by 2030.

On Tuesday, Sir Keir said the UK was on track to spend 3% of GDP on defence in the next five-year Parliament - but he did not set a more specific date on this target, something defence chiefs and former Defence Secretary John Healey had called for.

Sir Keir said the DIP would put the UK on track to meet Nato's core defence spending target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035.

The outgoing PM ruled out further borrowing to fund the increase, and instead the money would be found by cutting the long-term investment budgets of other government departments by 1%.

The Department for Transport is making a further £700m in savings from roads projects, with the A38 Derby Junctions and A46 Newark Bypass scheme being considered for cancellation.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is finding an additional £2bn from its budget. More detailed plans are expected in the autumn.

Plans to cancel road projects have already sparked a backlash from local leaders and MPs, with Labour's East Midlands mayor Claire Ward calling them "completely unacceptable".

Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick, who represents Newark, also weighed in, saying: "I have written to the transport secretary and demanded an urgent explanation for local residents.

"It is shameful that such a big decision has been snuck out by the government without any debate."

Lincoln MP Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister, has said he was "disappointed by the uncertainty" around the A46 scheme, while Mid Derbyshire Labour MP Jonathan Davies said cutting transport spending risked putting a "brake on economic growth".