Indefensible: PM finally unveils his defence plan - but there's a £5bn black hole, the MoD has to make £10bn in cuts and there is STILL no date for spending to hit 3% of GDP

By JASON GROVES, POLITICAL EDITOR and MARK NICOL, DEFENCE EDITOR and MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR Published: 01:11, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 01:11, 1 July 2026 Sir Keir Starmer passed the buck to Andy Burnham on defence yesterday after short-changing Britain's military. After months of delays, the Prime Minister published the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), only to be told it was not enough to protect the country. He said the package of an extra £15billion over four years would give the Armed Forces the resources needed to deter a Russian attack. But the plan began unravelling last night after it emerged only £10.3billion in savings had been identified, meaning it contains a £4.7billion black hole Mr Burnham will have to fill in his Budget this autumn. Despite the growing military threat, the Ministry of Defence must find £10.7billion in efficiency cuts to help fund the package.  No date was set for raising defence spending to three per cent of GDP – which is widely seen as the minimum. In an extraordinary statement, Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis told MPs the package was too little at a time of global insecurity. He suggested more money may be available at a spending review next year – another decision for Mr Burnham to make. Sir Keir Starmer finally published the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), but has been told it is not adequate to protect the country Your browser does not support iframes. Mr Jarvis said: 'We do need to do more. We will need to spend more on defence. That's why there is a clear commitment to make it the No1 priority at the next spending review.' One defence source accused the PM last night of handing his likely successor a 'poison pill'. And the Tories warned the package was 'too little, too late'. Party leader Kemi Badenoch urged ministers to slash the benefits bill to free up more money. She said the deal was 'barely half what... is needed, and well below what our allies are spending'.  She added: 'Starmer is no longer the real Prime Minister. But he's underfunding our military in his search for a 'legacy'. 'If Andy Burnham has signed off on this, then he too is culpable of putting our service personnel at risk with this weak plan.  'We need to cut benefits to fund our Armed Forces. It doesn't matter who leads them, the problem is Labour MPs who won't do what is necessary to defend our country.' John Healey resigned as Starmer's Defence Secretary last month in protest against his unwillingness to properly fund the sector Andy Burnham will be left to pick up the pieces of Starmer's defence legacy Sir Keir faces a bruising encounter with Donald Trump at next week's Nato summit in Turkey. Speaking before the publication of the plan, a White House official said: 'President Trump expects Nato allies to abide by their 5 per cent defence-spending pledge.' Bitter rows over defence spending triggered the resignations of former defence secretary John Healey and Armed Forces minister Al Carns last month. Mr Healey said the PM had proved 'unable' and Chancellor Rachel Reeves 'unwilling' to fund Britain's defence. Yesterday, he repeated his call for Britain to hit a three per cent spending target by the end of the decade. Mr Jarvis has pledged an extra £1.5billion following the resignation of Mr Healey, who had secured £13.5billion. But defence chiefs say they need £28billion. Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton was said to be so alarmed by the £4.7billion black hole that he banned ministers from saying he supported the plan.  General Sir Richard Barrons, a co-author of Labour's 2025 strategic defence review, said it was 'not going to crack the issue' of proper funding. 'We're not keeping up with our allies,' he said.  'We're certainly not keeping up with our enemies, and we know the US is no longer going to save European security in the face of a Russian threat.' Mr Jarvis denied the Government was leaving a 'hand grenade' for Mr Burnham, who he said had been consulted on the plans.  He said: 'Andy is committed... to make sure we've got the right resources... to defend our nation.'  But Mr Burnham faces finding £4.7billion immediately – and demands to boost the package. There were signs last night that other parts of the plan could unravel. Ministers in other departments have had to put 1 per cent of their capital budgets into it, with an extra £700million raided from roads and £2billion from Ed Miliband's Net Zero plans. Last night, Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer became the first senior figure to protest publicly, saying Mr Burnham should reverse cuts to a road scheme in his Lincoln constituency. Mr Miliband has objected to the raid on Net Zero. The new package includes £5billion for drone technology but cuts to conventional forces, including destroyers.  Defence spending will rise to 2.68 per cent by 2030, up from 2.3 per cent in 2024. Tory defence spokesman James Cartlidge said: 'Much of the capability [the plan] contains won't be in service until the 2030s – the threat we face is right now.' Tan Dhesi, Labour chairman of the Commons defence committee, said it was 'disappointing' and urged the Government to commit to spending 3 per cent of GDP by 2030. The comments below have not been moderated. 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