The nation was marking Armed Forces Day on Saturday
The Defence Secretary, Dan Jarvis MP, has spoken out to back Andy Burnham, saying the new Makerfield MP would make an ‘excellent’ Prime Minister.
Mr Jarvis, as a row over the publication of the Government’s defence spending plan continues, said Mr Burnham ‘understands the importance of national security and making sure that we’ve got the right amount of resource to invest in our armed forces’.
He said he was ‘very supportive’ of the former mayor of Greater Manchester, but decisions on Cabinet posts would be a matter for him.
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Asked whether he backed Mr Burnham and would serve in a potential Burnham government, the Defence Secretary told the Press Association: “I’m very supportive of Andy Burnham, who I’ve known for many years and who I supported previously.
“I think he’ll be an excellent Prime Minister, but ultimately it’ll be for him to appoint his cabinet.”
Former Sheffield City mayor Mr Jarvis, speaking on Armed Forces Day on Saturday, said there was a ‘balance’ that needed to be struck over the defence investment plan (Dip).
Asked how much more was needed, he said: “There will always be a strong case, not least given the circumstances that we’re operating in, to spend more on defence, but people will understand that there has to be a balance that is struck, and I have to work very closely with colleagues in the Treasury.
“It’s my job to secure the best deal for defence.”
He added defence should be the UK’s ‘number one spending priority’.
On defence resources, Mr Jarvis said: “That is a process that is absolutely under way, but it is on the back of a commitment already to historic levels of defence funding.
“Yes, we want to do more, and the Dip will deliver that, and, yes, we want to go further, the other side of the Dip.
“That is well understood by Andy Burnham. It’s well understood by the current Prime Minister. It’s my job to deliver for defence and that’s what I’m working hard to do.”
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Mr Jarvis said “real progress” had been made on the defence investment plan in the last week, but indicated he still needed to “satisfy myself that I’ve got the right level of resource”.
“I’ve been working very hard since I was appointed to satisfy myself that we’ve got the right resource and the right mix of capabilities,” he said, asked whether it was ready.
“The Prime Minister has been clear that we will publish the defence investment plan before the Nato summit. That’s what we’re going to do. I have a responsibility to make sure I get it right and that is what I’m working to achieve.”
“I pay tribute to my predecessor, he did a great job for defence, but the responsibility is now mine to deliver that plan, and what I need to do is satisfy myself that I’ve got the right level of resource and the right mix of capabilities. That is a process across Government. We’ve made real progress with it over the last week or so. I’m determined to get that right and I’m determined to do it before the Nato summit.”
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