Keir Starmer set to commit extra £1bn to defence despite Andy Burnham's team urging lame-duck PM to wait for successor

Sir Keir Starmer is set to commit an additional £1billion to the defence budget for the next four years despite Andy Burnham's team urging him to wait for his successor.

The new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis is understood to have been offered £14.5billion in additional funding over the next four years after fierce negotiations with Sir Keir and the Treasury about the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (Dip).

However, this amount is just over half of what was required (£28billion) to fill the Armed Forces spending black hole, which caused former Defence Secretary John Healey to resign on June 11.

Mr Healey said in his resignation letter the original £13.5billion offering fell "well short of what is required for defence and the county at this dangerous time".

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The new Defence Secretary and his team have seen the new offer as a victory, after previous negotiations with the Government had been unfruitful.

Speaking to GB News today, Mr Jarvis acknowledged the Government needs to spend more on defence.

He said: "We're spending more on defence than we have for more than a generation.

"But yes, I accept the basic point that we need to spend more, and that's why we're working through the process of the Defence Investment Plan.

"That's why I'm working to secure more resource and the right capability."

Mr Jarvis said he was "confident" the long-delayed Dip would be published before the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey on July 7.

The Dip was meant to published last Autumn, creating significant criticism among politicians and defence businesses.

However, Andy Burnham's team have urged for the Dip to be delayed further, so that the likely-to-be Prime Minister can review it.

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The MP for Makerfield's team told the Telegraph the Prime Minister had no right to publish the Dip ahead of the Nato summit.

Their argument being the Dip has significant national and international implications which will impact the incoming Prime Minister, so they deserve to have input on it.

The Defence Secretary, who has known Mr Burnham "for a very long time" said the incoming Prime Minister "will make sure we've got the resource that we need to defend our nation".

He told the People's Channel: "I've known Andy Burnham for a very long time. We are mayors together. He's done an exceptional job in Greater Manchester as the mayor.

"I also know how seriously he takes the defence of our nation. And as Prime Minister, I know that he will make sure that we've got the resource that we need to defend our nation, both in terms of national security and in terms of defence."

Mr Jarvis said he was "taking the time" to ensure he gets the plan "right", despite having less than two weeks until the two-day defence alliance summit takes place.

"That's why I'm taking the time that I need to get the Defence Investment Plan right. To make sure that there is appropriate levels of funding that underpin it, and that we've got the right mix of capabilities," he said.

Mr Jarvis is understood to have also made amendments to the Dip in order to make Britain "war-fighting ready".

The additional funding is expected to go towards uncrewed ground vehicles for the Army, with autonomous technology also receiving a cash injection.

One defence source said the additional cash is "all well and good", but there needs to be clarity on how the funds will be allocated.

They said: "Extra money is all well and good but we still need to understand how it will be apportioned.

"The biggest problem is the Dip doesn’t fund the stuff that already exists, let alone provide enough to buy all the new capability that’s wanted.

"More money is a point in the right direction but this is still a drop in the ocean."

The Shadow Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois said the extra £1billion "won't touch the sides".

He said: "The service chiefs have asked for an extra £28billion over four years, to help implement Labour’s own Strategic Defence Review.

"Relative to that, an extra billion to save Dan Jarvis’s blushes still won’t touch the sides – as even the revised total is barely half what our own military leaders say is required to keep us safe. Either way, the Treasury wins and the MoD loses."

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