Sir Max Hastings, the military historian, has launched a withering attack on Prime Minister Andy Burnham, comparing his leadership unfavourably with Winston Churchill's in 1940 and describing him as a "featherweight" who is unfit to run Britain.
Speaking as he publishes his new book, Plunder, an account of the final months of the Second World War, Hastings criticised Burnham's approach to national security and leadership, saying the Prime Minister lacks the courage to tell the public unpopular truths.
Churchill's Courage vs Burnham's Complacency
Hastings recalled the mood in Britain after the Dunkirk evacuation of May and June 1940, when more than 338,000 men were saved from death or capture. He said the atmosphere was "peculiarly self-congratulatory" and that Churchill stood up in the House of Commons to deliver a stark message.
"The British people were in a peculiarly self-congratulatory mood," Hastings explained. "They were saying, 'Gosh, haven't we done well?' And Churchill stood up in the House of Commons and told them: 'Wars are not won by evacuations'. That was courageous – it was telling the British people something quite ugly.
"Can you imagine Andy Burnham in the same position? He'd say: 'The war's half won!' And one major lesson from the Second World War is that, to be a true leader, you have to do – and say – some deeply unpopular things."
Burnham's Defence Stance Under Fire
Hastings pointed to Burnham's admission in the Commons that national security "can't come at the expense of social security" when challenged over defence funding by Kemi Badenoch. He said this moment led him and "millions of other Britons" to conclude Burnham is not a serious person.
"That was the moment at which I, and millions of other Britons, decided Burnham was not a serious person," Hastings said. "The Labour Party is lagging behind the country. The British people are waking up to the threat while Labour are off in fairyland.
"It's pretty scary we're led by a Prime Minister who doesn't seem to have any understanding of – or wish to admit to – the serious issues, far less to address them."
A Grim Outlook
Hastings predicted "grim years ahead" for Britain, saying the nation has never needed strong leadership more and that Burnham will not provide it. He drew a contrast with the threat posed by Russia, saying President Putin sees Western Europe as "a soft touch".
"I think we've got some grim years ahead of us," he said. "We've never needed strong and convincing leadership more and it's obvious we're not going to get it from Burnham. To call him a lightweight is a mistake – he's a featherweight.
"As Putin looks at what's happening in Germany, France and Britain, he thinks Western Europe looks more and more like a soft touch. And there's every reason to believe he's right. I can't think of a less suitable leader for Britain in 2026 than Andy Burnham."
Plunder: The Final Months of War
Hastings' new book, Plunder, focuses on the period between January and May 1945, when around half a million German civilians died and more than a quarter of all Wehrmacht fatalities occurred in the final year of the war. Allied forces were losing tens of thousands of men a month in bloody engagements.
Hastings noted that German forces continued fighting fiercely to the end, with many officers telling him they defended their homeland. He also highlighted the efficiency of the Nazi terror machine, which executed those accused of defeatism until the very end.
Among the personal stories in the book is that of Captain Ian Liddell of the Coldstream Guards, who won a posthumous Victoria Cross after cutting wires to prevent Germans from blowing up a key bridge. Liddell, who had guarded King George VI earlier in the war, was killed by a ricochet bullet three weeks after his heroics, just a week before the war ended.
Hastings also criticised Western Europe's reliance on American defence spending, agreeing with Donald Trump that Europe has had a "free ride" on defence. He warned that Russia is testing the West's will to retaliate and finding none.
"The Russians are all the time testing our will to retaliate, and they're finding there is no will to retaliate," he said. "Putin may only stop doing this if someone gives him cause to think he pays a price – and that means hitting back."
Hastings, now 80, said his next book on the sinking of the Bismarck may be his last, as he is about to turn 81. Plunder: The Last of the War in Europe, 1945 by Max Hastings (William Collins, £25) is out now.
