“The UK defence sector supports 12,000 jobs in Scotland, according to Andy Burnham.” — Andy Burnham. Our verdict: True.

What we found

The evidence

• Supports the claim

  A government press release reports that Scotland receives over £2bn a year from Ministry of Defence spending and that this supports more than 12,000 jobs in the Scottish defence sector. [1]

• Supports the claim

  A government press release states that the defence sector supports nearly 12,000 jobs in Scotland. [2]

• Background

  A skills assessment for the defence sector projects demand for about 82,000 workers across the UK by 2035, but gives no Scotland-specific job numbers. [3]

• Background

  A government announcement about a Scotland Growth Deal and a Defence Industrial Strategy does not contain the specific figure of 12,000 jobs. [4]

What we could not confirm

• We could not find evidence confirming that Andy Burnham actually made this statement.
• The exact number of jobs is described as "more than" or "nearly" 12,000, so the precise figure is not fixed.
• All the supporting figures come from government press releases, with no independent verification.
• The figures are a snapshot in time and may not reflect later changes in employment.

How we checked

We looked at official government press releases and publications about defence spending and jobs in Scotland, including material from March and October 2026. We reviewed 4 relevant sources.