Labour defence boost 'unravelling', warns Kemi Badenoch - as 'unfunded' plan leaves new hospitals and roads in the firing line for cuts

By JASON GROVES, POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 00:01, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 00:01, 2 July 2026 Labour's defence plans have 'completely unravelled', Kemi Badenoch has warned – as it emerged that almost none of the funding has been nailed down. The Conservative leader accused Keir Starmer of a 'total dereliction of duty' after Downing Street admitted that savings needed to fund the £15 billion over four years have yet to be identified. The Prime Minister announced the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan in a blaze of publicity on Tuesday, claiming it would leave Britain's armed forces able to deter and fight Russia. But Treasury documents revealed that £4.7 billion of the funding has not been identified and will have to be found at the next Budget, when Andy Burnham is likely to be in charge. And yesterday it emerged that final decisions on where departmental savings totalling £10.3 billion will be found have also been delayed until the autumn, by which time Sir Keir will no longer be PM. Downing Street admitted the funding gap could even lead to up to 20 hospital building projects being delayed or cancelled. Labour MPs are already protesting about the scrapping of three road schemes – the only savings identified so far - and urging Mr Burnham to intervene to reinstate them. No 10 said Mr Burnham had been briefed on the outline of the defence plan in advance. But allies of the would-be PM said he was not told about the funding gap. One told the Mail he was 'furious' at being left to sort out an issue Sir Keir has dithered over for a year. The crisis facing Mr Burnham intensified when the chief of the defence staff Air Chief Marshall Sir Richard Knighton said spending had to be increased to 3.5 per cent of GDP to deliver last year's strategic defence review in full – far above the 2.7 per cent agreed by Sir Keir. The troubled Ajax armoured vehicle will form part of the new defence plans Unravelling: Kemi Badenoch said Labour should cut welfare to fund defence Ruth Curtice, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said bridging the gap would require an extra £25 billion, an 'enormous sum of money' equal to 3p on the basic rate of income tax, which she said would require 'a discussion as a country about how to pay for that'. During clashes in the Commons, Mrs Badenoch told Sir Keir the plan had 'completely unravelled, because he has not found the money to pay for it… We all know that he is leaving this mess to his successor.' The £4.7 billion 'black hole' in the budget is almost identical to the welfare savings abandoned by Sir Keir last year when he caved in to Labour backbenchers opposed to cutting the benefits bill. Mrs Badenoch said: 'The reason the Prime Minister is in this mess is that he was too weak to cut welfare when he had the chance.' She added: 'Britain is facing a moment of danger unlike anything in our lifetimes. We need a plan to fund our armed forces that meets this moment. 'The fact is that Labour's plan is too weak, it is too little and it is too late… The money must be found, and that money should come from cutting welfare—something that these Labour MPs will not do. If Labour cannot defend our country, what is the point of them?' Sir Keir claimed the plan amounts to 'the most significant upgrade in defence spending since the 1980s'. Challenged over the missing £4.7 billion, he insisted it was normal for governments to settle the funding for initiatives at the Budget. But questions were growing last night about the funding for the rest of the package. All departments have been told to cut one per cent from their capital budgets, with the Department for Transport sacrificing a further £700 million from the roads budget and the energy department losing an extra £2 billion. But the detail of where the axe will fall has yet to be agreed. Downing Street said the 'first wave' of the New Hospital Programme would not be hit, but could not rule out cuts or delays to 18 projects in later phases. The King's Fund warned delays would have a 'knock-on effect on patient care'. The health think tank said there were already 'serious doubts' about whether the hospital building programme can be delivered and described potential cuts as a 'false economy'. Sir Keir suggested Mr Burnham could fund part of the shortfall using the government's fiscal 'headroom' – effectively extra borrowing. But Rachel Reeves warned Mr Burnham against trying to fund defence through increased borrowing, saying that increased spending was only possible because of adherence to her fiscal rules. Writing in the Telegraph, she said: 'A Britain spending beyond its means is a weak Britain – one that is more vulnerable to global shocks. 'That weakness would be something that our adversaries could exploit, to the detriment of our national security.' 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? 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