Andy Burnham is set to announce the continuation of the Dreadnought submarine programme, which he says will support 47,000 jobs, but has already failed to commit to the country's flagship 3% defence spending target.
The Prime Minister dodged questions on whether he would back reaching 3% by 2030 – the commitment his own Chancellor, John Healey, resigned over as Defence Secretary under Sir Keir Starmer. Instead, Mr Burnham would only commit to the NATO target of 3.5% by 2035.
Conservatives hit back
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge branded the announcement a "reannouncement" of funding already confirmed. He warned there is still "no detail at all" in Mr Burnham's latest plans, as critics slammed him for failing to confirm his wider defence strategy.
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