Andy Burnham did not have ‘all the details’ of £4.7 billion defence black hole

Andy Burnham has said he did not have “all of the details” about the £4.7 billion (€5.4 billion) black hole in Keir Starmer’s plan to raise defence spending until it was published.

The prospective UK prime minister suggested he “wasn’t in all of the discussions” about the financial details, but insisted he would not make “crude cuts to benefit levels” to plug his first budget.

His comments appear to confirm that he was blindsided by the defence investment plan (Dip) funding gap.

Facing media questions for the first time since last month’s byelection win, the Makerfield MP chuckled as he was asked by Andrew Marr on LBC about the black hole.

Burnham, who clutched a hard copy of the dip in the studio, said: “I didn’t have all of the details.

“I wasn’t in all of the discussions, but to be fair, the Government had had an internal process ongoing.”

He added: “I regard it as something that the country has to face up to very seriously.

“We’re in a changing world. The nature of the threat is changing.

“What I can say to you tonight is I will take my responsibilities fully to fund the defence investment plan.

“If I am in the position to do so, I will take those responsibilities extremely seriously. No compromise on the security of the nation.

“More broadly, I just think we need to build the resilience of the country in all of our, in all of our places.”

The UK prime minister unveiled the Dip on Tuesday, with a promise to increase defence spending by £15 billion, and modernise the armed forces so they are prepared for drone attacks and the threat of Russia.

A decision on where the £4.7 billion will come from is to be made at the budget in the autumn.

Later in the interview, Burnham ruled out “crude” benefit cuts as a possible solution to the funding gap.

He said: “I’m not going to go with the crude cuts to benefit levels that then just put people who are struggling in even worse poverty, and that often creates the backlash, and understandably so.

“There’s a different approach, which is looking at two things that can be done differently to get the overall benefits bill down.

“One of those is how we support young people. I will not defend an education system that is overly focused on the university route and does not lay out paths to technical qualifications for our young people.”

Elsewhere, Burnham said there is “some room” in the Labour manifesto for “movement on tax”.

He added: “If you take business rates, for instance, I believe there is a case for higher business rates on warehouses and the major developments we see on the outskirts of our cities so that we can cut business rates for pubs.

“And I proposed a 20% cut and lift some high street businesses out of business rates altogether.

“I am not indisciplined when it comes to the public finances,” he added.

He also said he will spend time at his new “No10 North” department if he becomes prime minister, revealing that it will be based close to Manchester Piccadilly station.