No10 admits it has no plan to plug £15billion defence black hole facing Andy Burnham

No10 has admitted that it has no plan to plug the £15billion black hole in Britain's defences facing Andy Burnham.

Upon possibly moving into Downing Street later this month, the Makerfield MP will have to weigh up whether he should make cuts across Whitehall - or burden Britons with higher taxes.

On Tuesday, outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised an extra £15billion for defence over the course of four years as part of his delayed Defence Investment Plan.

But it was later revealed the outgoing PM had lumbered his successor with a staggering £4.7billion in the public purse in his first October Budget.

Then, the Prime Minister's Office failed to explain where the remaining £10.3billion would be sourced on Wednesday, leaving the door open to where the money will be found.

The Tories have ripped into the state of the defence plan, which was branded as Sir Keir's last-ditch attempt to curate his lasting legacy in power.

The Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said the plan "completely unravelled barely a day after it was published", telling The Telegraph: "The increase in spending is far too little, the capability promised comes far too late, and now we learn that they don’t even know how to fund it.

"Keir Starmer is kicking the can down the road for his successor because he has failed to take the tough decisions needed to keep the country safe."

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Andy Burnham will study the defence plan "very carefully" as one of his allies has set out that the budget will be a "priority for him".

Labour MP David Baines said: "It's not uncommon for announcements we've made and then how it's going to be funded to be set out at a future budget or spending review.

"I'm sure Andy is going to be looking at it very carefully, and it's going to have to be a priority for him when he's hopefully in the job," he told Sky News.

Jacqui Smith has been grilled by GB News host Ellie Costello on the major spending black hole in Labour's defence spending.

Speaking to the People's Channel, the Skills Minister assured that the Government "will find the money" to plug the multi-billion pound gap in defence funding.

Pressed by Ellie on how it will be funded, Baroness Smith told GB News: "This is largely funded the Defence Investment Plan, and it builds on the fact that when we came into Government, there was £54billion a year being spent on defence. Now there's £80billion a year being spent.

"The plan brings us from 2.3 per cent of our GDP to 2.7 per cent, and then onwards in the next Parliament to meeting our responsibilities to spend three per cent of our GDP on defence."

Shropshire residents have told GB News that they feel "vulnerable" and fear for their safety after it was revealed that almost 100 asylum seekers are to be moved into new-build homes in their community.

Speaking to presenter Alex Armstrong, several residents expressed their concerns for the "danger" the asylum seekers pose to the women and children in the community.

Some 83 asylum seekers are set to move into the 21 smart new-build homes in Stoke Heath, worth £250,000 each.

The remote rural estate in the West Midlands currently hosts a population of fewer than 500 people, leaving the community in fear for their safety.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith has advocated having a "disco nap" ahead of the next England game.

The national team will play against Mexico on Monday morning at 1am, but the late night has not put Baroness Smith off working the next day.

"A bit of under-eye make-up and it'll all be good," she told Sky News.

Angela Rayner has warned Labour it is risking handing Nigel Farage the keys to No10 without committing to radical change.

Speaking at the Left-wing New Economics Foundation think tank, she said Labour spent too long "defending the status quo rather than challenging it" while in power.

The former Deputy Prime Minister said that keeping the status quo only proved that "the establishment can only do more of the same", leading to a surge in support for Mr Farage at the next election.

A Conservative MP has condemned new "Big Brother" cars which automaticaly slow down if they are driving above the speed limit.

The European officials apparently like it as well. They're exploring plans that could see new cars automatically slow down if they exceed the speed limit, causing using satellite technology to monitor where vehicles are.

He told GB News: "Well, it does seem to me that obviously the European Union can do what it likes, but I'm a bit I'm a little bit worried about the closeness or the ever close relationship that some in our Government want to have with the European Union.

"How they could perhaps just adopt this as a way of controlling drivers in this country."

Sir Keir Starmer will apologise to survivors of the forced adoption scandal following a private meeting in Downing Street.

Some 185,000 babies of unmarried mothers across England and Wales were adopted between 1949 and 1976.

But the mothers, as well as the adults who were adopted as children, demanded an apology from Whitehall for the system.

In 2022, the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) said "the Government bears ultimate responsibility for the pain and suffering caused by public institutions and state employees that railroaded mothers into unwanted adoptions".

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has introduced new rules banning asylum seekers from being housed in new-build homes or near schools and nurseries.

The measures were brought in following a backlash over plans to house more than 80 asylum seekers in £250,000 new-build properties on a housing estate in Stoke Heath, Shropshire.

However, the Stoke Heath scheme had already been approved before the new guidance came into force, allowing the plans to proceed.

The new-build estate in the rural Shropshire village has earmarked 21 homes for asylum-seeking families.