Starmer slammed by Badenoch over defence spending plan ‘mess’

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestyleKemi Badenoch has criticised Sir Keir Starmer's defence spending plan, claiming it has a £4.7 billion funding gap that will be left for his successor to address. The outgoing prime minister unveiled a £15 billion uplift in defence spending, largely funded by cuts to other departments, but almost a third of this increase is not yet secured. Andy Burnham, the likely next prime minister, will face choices between higher taxes, more borrowing, or further spending cuts to plug this financial shortfall. A minister suggested that Andy Burnham only became aware of the funding gap on the day the plan was published, despite Downing Street's claims of keeping his team involved. Sir Keir Starmer defended the plan, stating it would take defence spending to £300 billion over four years and had been welcomed by military chiefs, while accusing the Tories of previously hollowing out the armed forces. In fullBadenoch accuses Starmer of leaving defence spending ‘mess to his successor’ amid concern over £5bn black holeThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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