The UK’s long-awaited Defense Investment Plan leaves several hard choices for Andy Burnham to make if he becomes prime minister, including how to close an almost £5 billion ($6.6 billion) hole in his first budget.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was confident his likely successor, Andy Burnham, would maintain the UK’s commitment to defense, as he laid out plans to invest an extra £15 billion ($20 billion) to modernize the British military.

The UK will seek to transform its aging military into a force fit for modern warfare by investing in drones and artificial intelligence alongside more traditional deterrents such as fighter jets and nuclear weapons.

Standing across from Keir Starmer in the Commons chamber this week, opposition leader Kemi Badenoch drew on a particularly violent metaphor for how the Labour Party had ditched him when she conjured up an image of “400 knives stuck in the prime minister’s back.”

Rachel Reeves appeared to concede that Andy Burnham won’t keep her on as Chancellor of the Exchequer, while insisting she has a long and close relationship with the man expected to replace Keir Starmer as UK prime minister next month.

In his final weeks as Britain’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, has repeatedly warned how “dangerous and volatile” the world is becoming. Andy Burnham is on a collision course with it.

Keir Starmer said he would step down as Britain’s prime minister after suffering a precipitous fall from favor, paving the way for Andy Burnham to succeed him.

The UK is developing low-cost, long-range weapons that could be deployed in Ukraine and won’t depend on the US for components and data, defense officials said.

Iran sought to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz by saying that ships need its permission and mandatory insurance in order to cross, even as the US said that 20 ships had quietly sailed through overnight via a route along Oman’s coast.

A clear majority of Keir Starmer’s cabinet believe it’s now inevitable Andy Burnham’s will take over as prime minister, according to people familiar with the thinking of more than 15 cabinet ministers, who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity on Friday.

Burnham’s by-election win paves the way for him to challenge for the premier post.

US Vice President JD Vance hit back at Israeli cabinet members who have criticized Donald Trump’s interim peace deal with Iran.

Some UK cabinet ministers are pushing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, to increase defense funding further, following John Healey’s resignation over the spending row.

Some UK cabinet ministers are pushing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, to increase defense funding further, following John Healey’s resignation over the spending row.

Supporters of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham expect senior members of Keir Starmer’s cabinet to tell the UK prime minister to agree a handover of power in the coming days, in an attempt to make it impossible for him to continue in post.

The UK said a Russian warship fired warning shots near a British yacht just outside of its territorial waters, in an attempt to prevent a possible collision.

The US is asking Europe to designate more of its military hardware for a NATO crisis, pressing the continent to fill gaps as Washington withdraws assets from the alliance.

The UK will be forced to “dial back” operations, exercises and training for its armed forces, Britain’s top uniformed military official said, underscoring the fallout from the budget battle that prompted the defense secretary to quit last week.

A series of arson attacks last year targeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer were orchestrated by a Russian-speaking Telegram account, highlighting the escalation in sabotage operations across Europe emanating from the country.

Keir Starmer’s trip to the Group of Seven summit has looked for weeks like it would at best be one last hurrah on the world stage for a leading advocate for European security dogged by political troubles at home.