RISHI SUNAK was accused of desperate scaremongering as he claimed Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer would risk national security and embolden Russia’s Vladimir Putin today.

The straw-clutching Prime Minister said Labour’s position on defence sent the wrong message at a time when the world was facing “one of the most dangerous periods we’ve ever known.”

He said the country faced threats over the next five years from an “axis of authoritarian powers,” extremists seeking to sow division at home, artificial intelligence and global forces imperilling people’s financial security.