Andy Burnham 'fiddling while Russia threatens to burn Europe', fumes Kemi Badenoch - as she demands PM acts on defence spending
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By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
Published: | Updated:
Andy Burnham has been accused of 'fiddling while Europe is at risk of burning' as Russia ramps up threats towards allies of Ukraine.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch demanded the Prime Minister end his 'dither and delay' and 'fund our defence properly' to counter Moscow's aggression.
Mr Burnham has committed to spending 3.5 per cent of the UK's GDP (gross domestic product) on defence by 2035 in line with a pledge by NATO members.
But the Government has so far only budgeted to hike defence spending to 2.7 per cent of GDP by 2027/28, and there are no firm details on how further increases will be achieved beyond that date.
This is despite Chancellor John Healey having quit as defence secretary in Keir Starmer's administration while arguing it was necessary to reach 3 per cent by 2030.
'Our Government is fiddling while Europe is at risk of burning,' Mrs Badenoch told the Telegraph.
'In France and Poland, leaders are taking action now against the growing Russian threat.
'What is our Government doing? Has anyone heard from Wes Streeting, the former head of the National Union of Students, who has rocked up as Defence Secretary?'
Andy Burnham has been accused of 'fiddling while Europe is at risk of burning' as Russia ramps up threats towards allies of Ukraine
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch demanded the Prime Minister end his 'dither and delay' and 'fund our defence properly' to counter Moscow's aggression
The Tory leader added: 'We have to stop pretending that we are living in a carefree end of history when Russia is testing our resolve week after week. It's time to get serious.'
Mrs Badenoch has ramped up her attacks on the Government over defence spending since Mr Burnham told MPs earlier this month that national security 'cannot come at the expense of social security'.
She accused the PM of sending a 'dangerous' message that he would not cut welfare to fund the military, which she said was 'heard loud and clear in Moscow as well as Manchester'.
Downing Street insisted Mr Burnham was committed both to funding the military and bringing down the benefits bill, but not through 'crude cuts', following his remarks at Prime Minister's Questions on 9 September.
It follows warnings that Russia is planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries supporting Ukraine.
NATO fighter pilots this week shot down a drone that was said to have entered Lithuania's airspace from neighbouring Belarus, an ally of Russia.
In a speech on Thursday, Poland's PM Donald Tusk suggested Moscow will pretend attacks on Ukrainian allies are 'accidental' in its attempt to 'paralyse or at least weaken the motivation of NATO countries'.
French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered a plan to protect critical infrastructure and defence industry sites due to the threat of hybrid attacks by Russia.
Admiral Lord West, the former First Sea Lord and security minister under Gordon Brown, told the newspaper that Britain's military was in 'quite a parlous state'.
'In many ways, one could argue we are already at war. We are certainly in the grey zone – whether it's cyber attacks, drones getting near the edge of somewhere or threats to underwater cables,' he said.
Lord Dannatt, the former chief of the general staff, urged Mr Healey to set out a path to 3.5 per cent at the Budget on 28 October.
He said: 'My bottom line is that Andy Burnham, and regretfully I would now add John Healey, are playing fast and loose with the nation's security.'
Mrs Badenoch has said she would increase defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030 by slashing Britain's ballooning welfare bill.
The Conservatives have proposed capping housing benefit to raise £4billion to spend on defence and rejected Mr Burnham's claim it would make people homeless.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'These threats from Russia are yet another attempt to distract from their barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
'We have been clear that Russia's hybrid attacks are egregious and unacceptable.
'That's why we have taken tough action to respond to Russia's intensifying hostile activity against our continent – increasing defence spending, expelling intelligence officers, sanctioning the GRU, cracking down on illicit finance networks, and ensuring Russia's criminal proxies are disrupted and brought to justice.
'The UK is united with our allies on the importance of defending ourselves, and Russia's aggression will not deter us from supporting Ukraine.'
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