Andy Burnham has been accused of sending a “dangerous message” to Vladimir Putin by refusing to cut welfare spending to fund defence.
Kemi Badenoch delivered a scathing indictment of the Prime Minister’s approach to Britain’s defence spending amid fears the Russian President is eyeing up ramping up his war across Europe.
“Our Government is fiddling while Europe is at risk of burning,” the Tory leader fumed.
“In France and Poland, leaders are taking action now against the growing Russian threat,” she told The Telegraph.
“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?”
The appointment of Mr Streeting as Defence Secretary raised some eyebrows across Westminster and beyond, despite the Ilford North MP’s lack of sector experience.
Mr Burnham’s “dangerous message”, she warned, was being heard “loud and clear in Moscow as well as Manchester”.
She lambasted Labour’s “dither and delay” over defencing spending, branding the Prime Minister a “people pleaser”.
Mrs Badenoch lambasted Labour’s ‘dither and delay’
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The Tory leader declared: “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.”
Earlier this month, Mr Burnham openly admitted he would not cut Britain’s ballooning benefits bill to boost defence spending.
During a damning rendition of Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Burnham rejected Mrs Badenoch’s call to cut welfare to increase military funding.
He said that national security “can’t come at the expense of social security”, which even his own team at No10 attempted to smooth over in the hours following the comment.
Vladimir Putin has been accused of eyeing up plans to ramp up war across Europe
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Mrs Badenoch’s latest demands have followed expectations the Russian despot will use his upcoming victory in the nation’s elections as a justification for continuing Moscow’s brutal war on Ukraine.
Russia’s elections come as Western intelligence officials have warned the Kremlin is preparing to intensify the conflict and step up hybrid attacks targeting Kyiv’s allies across Europe.
Earlier today, defence analyst Sean Bell told GB News: “The harsh reality of life at the moment is that there is a very significant threat.”
He even suggested that Nato’s top military chiefs could now come face-to-face with “difficult decisions” about the futures of their Armed Forces.
“Putin despised Nato and wanted to try and break it up,” Mr Bell added, although he commented that Nato was “stronger than ever”.
“Politicians come and go, but the military endures,” he said.
Nato officials fear Putin is plotting the “stealth mobilisation” of thousands of Russians in preparation for a potential escalation.
The Russian leader could use the extra manpower to enhance his hybrid warfare against Europe, The Telegraph reports.
Putin has adopted an increasingly bellicose tone towards European nations, with Russian ships brazenly firing warning shots at a British yacht in the English Channel.
Responding to military exercises in the Baltic Sea that involved practising the seizure of civilian vessels, the Russian president threatened he would “respond”.
“Let’s live in peace; otherwise, we will have to respond,” he said. “There will be no other way.”