Defence chief puts pressure on Andy Burnham to find £25bn a year needed to meet NATO target

Published: 18:54, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 18:56, 1 July 2026 The Chief of the Defence Staff fired at shot at Andy Burnham last night demanding the likely next Prime Minister finds more money for the Armed Forces. Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said the services require an additional £25 billion on top of scheduled spending for each of the next nine years. The requirement for a total of £225billion between 2026 and 2035 would require a 3 pence rise in income tax or equivalent cuts to other departmental budgets. The investment is essential to ensure Britain meets the NATO spending target of 3.5 per cent of GDP. The Ministry of Defence’s ten-year development plan, known as the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), is also based on the Treasury committing that level of funding over the long-term. Pictured here with Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton fired a shot at Andy Burnham yesterday over Armed Forces spending. Speaking on a visit to a drone factory in Cambridgeshire, Sir Richard said: ‘To deliver the SDR and to meet our NATO requirements we need to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP. ‘The Prime Minister alongside other leaders at the Hague at NATO last year to do that.’ Sir Richard’s demands come after it emerged that outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has left a £4.7 billion black hole for his likely successor. That sum must come out of the autumn budget, including an upfront payment of £1.8billion to cover defence running costs in 2026. Should he enter Downing Street as Prime Minister Andy Burnham will inherit from Sir Keir Starmer a £4.7 billion black hole in defence funding - and expectations from service chiefs that the UK government finds £25billion for each of the next nine years. The Mail has uncovered how in addition to £10 billion of efficiency savings the MOD is required to make, the department must embark on a £400m asset stripping exercise. Defence properties and land will be sold off over the next four years, though it is far from certain the asking prices will be met. As former Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace told the Mail, the MOD has been borrowing against the same assets for a decade. He said: ‘There is an optimism bias built into the valuations and the scheme has been running since 2016. This isn’t cash, it isn’t real spending. ‘Nobody knows when the assets will be sold, or for what price. This is an old trick. George Osborne started it. ‘Overall I do not think the DIP will make a single bit of difference. It does not enable the expenditures set out in the SDR whatsoever. This is a settlement to standstill.’ According to the MOD the DIP provides an additional £15 billion, most of which is extra day-to-day spending for training and improving availability of ships and aircraft. The £15 billion figure is also propped up by a forecasted £600 million from ‘MOD reprioritisations’ and £2.4billion from ‘Treasury support for international objectives’. Last night, official defence sources said that figure represented the Treasury accepting liability for UK support for Ukraine, which they claimed was previously a MOD responsibility. Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge told the Mail: ‘Labour’s Defence Investment Plan has completely unravelled barely a day after it was published. ‘The increase in spending is far too little and the capability promised comes far too late. Now we learn the MOD will have to sell off its assets to fund it – but it cannot say which assets and when they will be sold.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.