Andy Burnham 'deliberately handed £4.7B Budget black hole' in surprise 'poison pill' from Keir Starmer

Andy Burnham could be forced to raise taxes or slash spending in his first Budget thanks to a "poison pill" from the Prime Minister.

Sir Keir Starmer's delayed Defence Investment Plan yesterday confirmed that Britain's Armed Forces would receive an additional £15billion per year.

But it soon emerged in a written statement to MPs from Rachel Reeves that only £10.3billion of that extra cash had been found so far - with the rest to be confirmed at "Budget 2026".

Mr Burnham is said to have been briefed on the DIP before it was finally unveiled.

But the Prime Minister-in-waiting was not told he would have to raise more money to fully fund the defence of the nation - and his team are said to think Sir Keir's allies deliberately left out details of that sum when they briefed him, according to The Guardian.

"This is a delayed-action poison pill," a Tory spokesman said. "This is going to be a headache for Burnham and his new Chancellor at the end of the spending period."

One Burnham ally likened the new black hole to an "unexploded bomb" - while a defence insider said it was "madness after all that wrangling to have left a £4.7billion black hole for someone else to fix".

A Treasury source told said it was normal for a Chancellor to make a spending announcement with some of the money still yet to be found at the next fiscal event.

They said Mr Burnham and his Chancellor could borrow more to fund the "unexploded bomb".

But the soon-to-be Prime Minister would face soaring borrowing costs as a result - and risk spooking the markets, which are already bracing for Mr Burnham's reign.

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Defence Secretary shoots down talk of £4.7billion 'poison pill' - 'Of course we've been talking to Andy Burnham!'

Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis last night denied the "poison pill" £4.7billion funding gap was a hand grenade for Andy Burnham, insisting it was in fact "absolutely the opposite".

Mr Jarvis repeatedly dodged questions on whether it had been made clear to Mr Burnham that he was being left with a funding gap.

“Of course we’ve been talking to Andy Burnham and his team about this plan,” he told the BBC, and pointed to Sir Keir Starmer’s alleged focus on a “smooth transition” of power.

“Andy Burnham has an absolute commitment to safeguarding our nation and ensuring that we’ve got the resources in place to defend our nation in the way that we think is necessary.”

Mr Jarvis then told Sky News that given the “massive expenditure” required to meet the commitment to increasing defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP by 2035, it was “not unreasonable” that “those kinds of decisions are done in the context of a spending review”.

Defence plan sparks already sparks Cabinet rebellion as minister demands urgent meeting over £700m roads cuts

Ministers have criticised the Government for its plans to slash roads funding by a staggering £700million to fund the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP).

Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that some road and energy projects would not be progressing forward as originally planned to boost defence spending.

The Department for Transport is expected to save £700million by cancelling road projects, including the A38 Derby Junctions and A46 Newark Bypass.

East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward has slammed the plans, saying that her region was facing the largest hit from the proposed defence spending cuts.

The potential moves have also been criticised by Lincoln MP - and Middle East Minister - Hamish Falconer and Mid Derbyshire MP Jonathan Davies.

Both said they were "disappointed" given the lack of clarity, in addition to the risk of it putting a "brake on economic growth".

Mr Falconer took to social media to publicly chastise Sir Keir - with the plans set to target the A46 Newark Bypass widening scheme.

He said: "I support further funding for the DIP, but the A46 upgrade programme is well advanced, long-awaited, excellent value for money and of strategic importance to both Lincoln and the region."

He also warned he would be seeking an "urgent meeting" with the incoming Prime Minister, Chancellor and Transport Secretary following the Labour leadership contest.

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