Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband are reportedly in conflict over proposed cuts to net zero initiatives to fund defence spending. Miliband is said to be resisting demands from Starmer to find savings in his department to boost the armed forces.
Whitehall Sources Reveal Tensions
A Whitehall source told The Telegraph: "While investing in sustainability is clearly important, it is also unsustainable to leave Britain's wind farms vulnerable to Russian attack." The comment highlights the growing tension between environmental goals and national security priorities.
The government is under intense pressure over its long-delayed defence investment plan, originally slated for publication last autumn but repeatedly postponed. A source close to Miliband said: "We do not comment on speculation."
Political Fallout
Conservative shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge criticised Labour's handling of the issue, calling it "pretty shambolic." Speaking to Times Radio, he said: "We desperately need to get more money into defence, everyone knows that, regardless of politics. And you'd think with all the delays we've had, months and months of delay, they'd have worked out how to pay for it and they still haven't."
Cartlidge added that taxes should not be hiked to pay for the uplift, after Starmer refused to rule out the move. Instead, the Conservatives would make major cuts to the "spiralling" welfare budget to fund defence.
Unrest in Northern Ireland
Separately, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn reported that 12 police officers were injured and 16 arrests were made during the second night of unrest following a Belfast knife attack.
