Burnham will need a Moscow test as well as Makerfield test, says ex-military chief

Andy Burnham will need a "Moscow test" for his policies if he becomes prime minister, the former Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin has said. Burnham, the favourite to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, has previously said that new legislation must pass a "Makerfield test", the constituency he was elected to this month. Speaking to the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, the ex-military chief said the UK's next leader would need to operate "almost like a wartime prime minister" in light of global threats. Sir Tony's intervention came as the government prepared to publish its long-awaited defence spending plan. He said that whoever becomes prime minister must fulfil the pledge to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, describing military capabilities as "too bare". Negotiations in Whitehall have continued this week over how the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) will be funded, while the government has committed to releasing it before the Nato summit in Turkey on 7 July. Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns - who has not ruled out challenging Burnham to be Labour leader and prime minister - both resigned from the government earlier this month over what they said was insufficient investment for the plan. Speaking to the BBC, Sir Tony said: "As well as having the Makerfield test, I would say it's the Moscow test. …