Starmer meets Burnham to discuss 'Orderly' transition plans

UK PM Keir Starmer reportedly held a secret, hour-long off-site meeting with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to discuss a potential leadership transition.

Keir Starmer also held his first cabinet meeting today since he announced his resignation .

The Prime Minister held an hour-long, face-to-face meeting with the former Greater Manchester mayor at an undisclosed location.

They held fresh talks as their first since Burnham won the Makerfield by-election last week.

It comes as the PM's spokesman says Burnham has been granted access to civil service briefings as a Labour leadership contender.

On Monday, Starmer announced his resignation, saying he would stay in post until his successor is chosen.

No 10 said there'll be "no new major policy or spending commitments" until a new PM is appointed.

However, ministers are planning to press ahead with publishing defence spending plans - our correspondent says this could draw criticism from Starmer's potential successors.

Andy Burnham remains the front-runner to become the next Labour leader.

The new Makerfield MP, who met with outgoing PM Keir Starmer on Tuesday for the first time since his by-election victory, is set to receive briefings from civil servants on taking over as prime minister.

But the route he should take to get to No 10 remains up for debate, with some Labour MPs calling for a contest and others hoping for an "orderly transition".

As reported by the Guardian, Keir Starmer announced yesterday that the Labour party will open nominations for candidates to succeed him on 9 July.

With Burnham likely to face no challengers, it is expected that Burnham will become PM at the end of the following week, possibly on Friday 17 July.

While ministers weigh up whether to challenge Burnham for the Labour leadership, if no-one comes forward, he could become the next prime minister in just over three weeks.

With all eyes on the top job, questions remain over what Burnham's policy ideas could look like.

No 10 says there will be "no new major policy or spending commitments" until a new prime minister is appointed, but crucially, this does not appear to include the much-delayed Defence Investment Plan.

The prime minister said he wanted whoever became the next prime minister to succeed. He added he wanted an orderly transition, as he set out yesterday and would seek to resolve difficult issues in the coming weeks to support the successor.

Starmer said he’d seek to make the transition as easy as possible, giving his full support to whoever followed in his footsteps.

He added, the cabinet had responsibilities before he stepped down, adding the normal business of government must proceed.