Burnham may have to boost defence spending to pass ‘Moscow test’, says ex-military chief

The former head of the armed forces has told Andy Burnham that plans for defence spending must meet a “Moscow test” to keep Russian threats at bay, warning the UK currently “falls short” of that level of commitment. Adm Sir Tony Radakin, who was the chief of the defence staff until last year, said that if the government’s defence investment plan (Dip), expected to be published this week, was “not enough” then the probable next prime minister would have to find more funding before the general election. Dan Jarvis, the new defence secretary, is believed to have already secured about £1bn more than his predecessor, John Healey, after days more of intense haggling between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Treasury. Healey quit earlier this month after he failed to secure more than £13.5bn to plug an £18bn gap in funding for the plan, which covers the department’s major capital programmes for the next 10 years. Little is known about Burnham’s thinking on defence, and there have been worries in the MoD that the former mayor of Greater Manchester would reopen any spending deal agreed in Keir Starmer’s final days, despite the prime minister’s attempts to shore up his legacy on the issue. Allies of Burnham said such concerns were wide of the mark, and they would rather the funding row – which has involved other departments taking a 1% cut to their capital budgets – was resolved and the Dip published now. But they added that he reserved the right to reopen it if needed. …