Starmer to unveil long-delayed defence investment plan amid ‘too little, too late’ criticism – UK politics live

Defence investment plan, which was originally due in the autumn, criticised by Tories and Lib Dems

Lord Dannatt, a former head of the army, told GB News this morning that, while the defence investment plan (Dip) was “a step in the right direction”, it did not go far enough. He explained:

We’ve waited far too long for this defence investment plan. Now, we haven’t got the full details of it. Some of the details were trickled out overnight, and it looks as if about £5bn extra is being put on the table, but £5bn is not the £28bn that the service chiefs have been asking for, and that’s the figure which would get us somewhere near the 3% of GDP that Keir Starmer was talking about in February at the Munich Security Conference.

So this is a step in the right direction, but it’s not the quantum of increase that our nation demands, and our allies are calling for, and there’s a real funny irony here.

Burnham intends to remain living in his family home in Greater Manchester rather than in Downing Street, sources told the Guardian, suggesting he would only reside in the flat above No 10 during the week.

I’m old enough to remember that time Keir Starmer said he wasn’t going to work past 6pm on a Friday.