Key events
Lib Dems say Tories would only be able to get ‘Patchwork Dome’ for £۱۰bn
The Liberal Democrats have dismissed the Tory plan for a “Britannia Shield” as “Truss-style fantasy economics”. They say the Conservatives would only get a “Patchwork Dome” with the £۱۰bn they plan to spend on the project.
James MacCleary, the Lib Dem defence spokesperson, said:
Once again the Conservatives are indulging in Truss-style fantasy economics. £۱۰bn would not even touch the sides for a complete UK-wide ‘Iron Dome’. They either need to review their dodgy sums or come clean about which parts of the country their Patchwork Dome wouldn’t cover.
Let’s not forget this is the party that hollowed out our armed forces for a decade, and whose disgraceful plan to fill the defence-spending black hole is based on targeted cuts to the poorest and most vulnerable children. You do not make Britain safer by pushing families into poverty.
What Tories are saying about how their proposed ‘Britannia Shield’ would work
This is what the Conservatives are saying about why the UK needs a “Britannia Shield” (their name for what they describe as a version of the “Iron Dome”), and who it would work.
The announcement comes as the threat of missile and drone attack against Britain and our allies continues to grow. Russia bombards Ukraine daily with ever more advanced drones and missiles, and they were behind a drone attack on Leipzig airport in August. Drones launched by Iranian proxies have hit our RAF base in Cyprus, and when Iran fired missiles at the Chagos islands earlier this year, it was the US who stepped in to launch interceptors. Nato allies, especially in the Baltic States, are suffering ever greater numbers of drone incursions and western intelligence agencies have warned that Russia could attack a Nato country by ۲۰۳۰.
We live in an increasingly dangerous and unpredictable world, where threats to the UK and our allies are growing in scale and complexity, yet Britain remains dangerously exposed. A report in November ۲۰۲۵ by the defence select committee warned that, compared to European allies investing heavily in integrated air and missile defence, the UK has “next to nothing”.
The Conservatives will close this dangerous capability gap by committing up to £۱۰ billion over ten years. We will deliver a minimal deployable capability within our first term in office, with the remaining investment focused on expanding and strengthening the system over time.
Britannia Shield will have three key components:
SENSE: New advanced radar systems, to detect incoming missiles and drones.
DECIDE: Upgraded command and control systems to integrate information from across Britain’s defences and rapidly identify the most effective response.
EFFECT: New interceptor missiles, counter-drone capabilities, and significantly larger missile stockpiles to defeat incoming threats.
Politics Badenoch calls for UK ‘Iron Dome’ missile defence system
Good morning. Kemi Badenoch is doing a round of interviews this morning at the Conservative conference, and she will be talking about her plans for the UK to have its own version of Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defence system. That phrase is not just journalists’ hype; it has come from the first line of the party’s press release, which says the party has plans for a “new integrated air and missile defence system to protect Britain from attack – in essence, a British ‘Iron Dome’.”
Here is our story by Jessica Elgot and Dan Sabbagh.
And this is what Badenoch is saying about it.
The first duty of government is to defend the country and keep people safe. Labour are failing that basic test.
The world will not wait for Britain to get ready. War has returned to Europe. Missiles and drones are transforming warfare in the Middle East. Cheap weapons can now threaten cities, military bases and critical infrastructure in ways that would have sounded like science fiction a generation ago.
If a missile or drone is launched at Britain, we do not get a second chance to wish we had prepared.
The Tories say their plan would cost £۱bn a year over ۱۰ years, and that the money would come from the plan they announced last month to raise defence spending by £۱۰bn a year. Almost half the money for this would come from cuts to housing benefit.
Here is the agenda for the day.
۷.۳۰am: Kemi Badenoch begins a round of media interviews, starting with BBC Breakfast.
۹.۴۵am: The morning session of the Conservative party conference opens, with speeches from Katie Lam, the shadow housing secretary, then Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary (at ۱۰.۳۰am) and Rebecca Paul, the shadow culture secretary (at noon).
۲pm: The afternoon session starts, with speeches from Alex Burghart, the deputy leader, Tom Tugendhat, the shadow foreign secretary, James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, and Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary.
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