Kemi blasts PM's defence dithering: Anger as Burnham is set to push back vital spending review from next spring to autumn... as a top historian says UK must 'prepare for war'

Published: 19:07 EDT, 6 October 2026 | Updated: 20:21 EDT, 6 October 2026 The Conservatives yesterday attacked Andy Burnham's 'dithering and delay' over defence as it emerged the Prime Minister could put off tough spending decisions for another year.The Government had been expected to carry out a spending review, which would set out the long-awaited timetable for rearmament, in the spring.However, the PM is now considering delaying it until this time next year, in the hope that Britain's economy will have improved by then.Tory leader Kemi Badenoch told the BBC: 'They're not talking about defence at all, they're not talking about what they're going to do, where they're going to get the money from.'I've just heard that they've delayed the spending review yet again. We need to start getting ready now.'The row came as a leading historian urged the Government to 'prepare for war'.After the Tories unveiled plans for a £10billion 'Iron Dome' defence system, known as Britannia Shield, Sir Niall Ferguson told the party's conference in Birmingham: '[We are] in range of Russian ballistic missiles... We do not have anything like the air defences we need in the 2020s.'Citing the damage inflicted on Britain by German bombers during the Second World War, Sir Niall added: 'We must remember the lessons that our grandparents had to learn from bitter experience. We never again want to have to see British kids in air raid shelters.'But you have to learn history's most fundamental lesson: if you want peace, prepare for war.' The Conservatives yesterday attacked Andy Burnham's 'dithering and delay' over defence It came as it emerged that the Prime Minister could put off tough spending decisions for another yearThe Daily Mail's Don't Leave Britain Defenceless campaign has been pushing Labour to find more money for the Armed Forces.But a Whitehall source told The Times that the 'working assumption' was that the defence spending review would be pushed back to next October.It would mean that difficult choices on tax rises or spending cuts – which are needed to boost defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP – could be put off until after an early general election, which many expect in May.The delay comes even though now Chancellor John Healey quit as defence secretary in June over Sir Keir Starmer's failure to find the money needed to fund his Defence Investment Plan (DIP).He and Mr Burnham face having to fill a £5billion defence black hole left to them by Sir Keir.Tory defence spokesman James Cartlidge said: 'Once again Andy Burnham is kicking the tough decisions facing our country into the long grass.'It feels like deja vu: Burnham's dithering and delaying is no different from Starmer's prevarication over the DIP.'Burnham came to power without a plan, and now he is running scared of the big issues and pushing them off till after an election.'Last night, Reform UK's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said: 'John Healey said a funding increase was urgent, but now he's in a position to do something about it, he's gone MIA.'He's either completely shameless or Labour are plotting an early election. Reform will cut the ballooning benefits bill so we can fund our Armed Forces properly after decades of scandalous neglect.'But a Treasury spokesman insisted: 'The date of the spending review has not been set. This is pure rumour and speculation.'Defence Secretary Wes Streeting claimed the Conservatives cut the Army 'to its smallest size since Napoleon', adding: 'The Conservatives put more effort into defending their abysmal record than they ever put into defending Britain.'It came as the Shadow Foreign Secretary said the 15 British nationals known to be fighting for Russia in Ukraine are traitors.Tom Tugendhat told reporters after his conference speech: 'They are committing a very serious crime. There is absolutely no question they will have to be prosecuted when... or if they return. They are also unbelievably stupid.'