Badenoch to speak to BBC as Tories pledge £10bn ‘British Iron Dome’ air defence system

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is speaking to BBC Breakfast at 07:30 BST and will also talk to Radio 4's Today programme at 08:10 BST – follow along here or watch live at the top of this page

The Tories are holding their party conference in Birmingham this week, with Badenoch set to give her keynote speech on Wednesday

It comes as the Conservatives have pledged to invest £10bn in a "British Iron Dome" air defence system if they win the next general election

Other policies announced by the party since the conference started include a promise to build 50,000 new prison places and new rules for young people claiming benefits

Badenoch has gone into this year's conference "with her own position secure in the party", writes Laura Kuenssberg

Asked about her party's latest defence announcement – to create a defence system named "Britannia Shield – she says it is a missile defence system that is needed because warfare is changing.

She says she has been listening to people like Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky and it is clear that global threats today "are different".

The policy would involve "investing £1bn a year over 10 years" so if a hostile country fires a drone or poses another threat to the UK, "we're able to protect ourselves".

Asked whether the system – compared to Israel's Iron Dome – would be different to the Israeli system, she says "what we are seeing with drone technology is that people can get close enough to fire drones at the UK". She says this is what is being seen at bases like Cyprus.

She says the "Conservatives are thinking about the future", adding that they have explained where the money to pay for it would come from.

On Labour, she says: "I want our government to be doing something like this but they're not talking about defence at all." She says the country "need[s] to start getting ready now".

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Badenoch is first asked about the death of Jeffrey Archer, who she says text her only yesterday morning to compliment her "great outfit" and "great speech".

The Conservative leader says she was "shocked" to learn of his death, that he lived a "colourful life" and was "very much loved by the Conservative family".

Badenoch describes him as someone who "believed in Conservatism" and as being a "great storyteller".

She also acknowledges controversial parts of his life, but says he made amends and "wanted to do a lot of good in the world".

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Kemi Badenoch is now speaking to BBC Breakfast – you can follow along and watch live at the top of the page.

We'll bring you key lines from the interview in our next few posts.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing We are now entering day three of the Conservative Party conference, which kicked off on Sunday. Here are some pictures from the event in Birmingham so far.

Yesterday's events included a speech from shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith, while leader Kemi Badenoch's keynote speech will take place tomorrow.

Griffith has said he hopes to scrap at least one tax every Budget if the Conservatives return to power

Badenoch and her husband, Hamish, wave after touring the exhibition stands

Conference attendees including shadow education secretary Laura Trott sing the national anthem

Jeremy Clarkson, pictured alongside shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins, made a surprise appearance and said hot weather had created a "terrible" year for farming

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Kemi Badenoch's morning media round comes after the death of bestselling author and former politician Jeffrey Archer.

The former Conservative MP sold more than 300 million books in his five-decade writing career, including the Clifton Chronicles, and Kane and Abel.

Archer's publisher HarperCollins said the author died "suddenly and peacefully at home" between writing sessions.

In a social media post, Badenoch described the news of Archer's death as "a huge shock", adding that she was "incredibly saddened" and calling him "a great source of encouragement to me personally".

Archer served as an MP for five years from 1969 before becoming Conservative Party deputy chairman. His political career was paused in 2001 when he was jailed for four years for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

He was released in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords until he retired in 2024.

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Watch: Jeffrey Archer spoke about his time in prison, today's politics and retirement in a BBC Breakfast interview in September

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingDan WoodlandLive reporter

The "Britannia Shield" isn't the only policy the Conservatives have announced in recent weeks to earmark what they'd do if the party returned to government.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The UK's existing Sky Sabre air defence system, seen in 2022 at the Royal Artillery's change of colours parade at Baker Barracks, Thorney Island

The Conservatives have pledged to invest £10bn in a new missile and drone defence system to defend the UK if they win the next general election.

The party says the so-called "Britannia Shield" would provide an integrated network of radar, command and control systems, as well as interceptor missiles.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge is expected to describe the pledge as "the most significant upgrade to UK air defence for generations" when he delivers a speech at the Conservative Party conference later today.

The Tories have described their plans as "a British 'Iron Dome'" – a reference to Israel's air defence system.

The party says it will be capable of defending the UK's critical national infrastructure, military bases and sovereign territories from sophisticated threats.

But Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has said the Tories had an "abysmal record" of defending Britain during their 14 years in power, adding: "They owe Britain an apology, not another lecture."

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Image source, EPA/ShutterstockKemi Badenoch is kicking off day three of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham with a morning media run.

The opposition leader has vowed her party is renewed and different from the one that lost the 2024 general election in a historic defeat.

There has been a flurry of new policy announcements from the Tories in recent days, including scrapping the £100,000 net income threshold on free childcare, building an extra 50,000 prison places, and new work requirements for under-25s claiming benefits.

The party is also set to share more details about their plan to invest £10bn in a new missile and drone defence system – the so-called "Britannia Shield". We'll have more on this policy in our next post.

Badenoch will be speaking to BBC Breakfast at 07:30 BST, and to Radio 4's Today programme at 08:10