Badenoch says UK must show allies a willingness to ‘get hands dirty’ on defence

Britain should show allies like the US a willingness to “get our hands dirty” on defence commitments and undertake “the biggest peacetime programme of rearmament in our country’s history”, Kemi Badenoch has said.

The Tory leader said the UK should not “miss the underlying lesson” in US President Donald Trump’s complaints that Europe must invest more in its own security.

Speaking at the London Defence Conference, Mrs Badenoch conceded she had found the US President’s public lambasting of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer “disconcerting.”

But she criticised Sir Keir for Britain’s “lack of readiness” after the breakout of war in the Middle East, saying the UK looked “woefully unprepared” while allies like France and Germany mobilised quickly.

Sir Keir’s refusal to allow the US free rein over British bases during the conflict severely strained his relationship with Mr Trump, who has also repeatedly described the UK’s military assets as inadequate.

The Prime Minister has said he acted in the national interest by limiting British involvement in the war to “defensive” action, after US-Israeli strikes on Tehran and Iranian retaliation against US allies in the Gulf.

Mrs Badenoch said: “Let’s start by urgently deploying the resources that we do have to serve our national interest in this conflict.

“We must show our allies and our enemies that we are willing to get our hands dirty. That doesn’t mean that when President Trump says jump, we ask, ‘How high?’

“No. It means acting decisively to protect Britain’s interest. What message does it send to our allies when we don’t defend our own bases from attack?”

Mrs Badenoch said some of Mr Trump’s rhetoric had “dismayed” her, but that “regardless, we must not miss the underlying lesson”.

She added: “We must look beyond this conflict in the Middle East and develop the resources we need to respond to this new era of threats.

“We have a huge amount of work to do to reassert Britain as a power in the world.

“First and foremost, we must rearm. If our military is strengthened, our hand is strengthened. We must undertake the biggest peacetime programme of rearmament in our country’s history.”

The Tories have pledged “the largest net increase in British troops under any government since the Second World War” if they return to power, including recruiting 6,000 regular soldiers and 14,000 reservists.

They said some £20 billion could be found to fund the effort by reinstating the two-child benefit cap and reallocating money for Government research and development and net zero projects.

In a question and answer session after her speech, Mrs Badenoch was asked whether she believed the shift in transatlantic relations was permanent in light of Mr Trump’s repeated criticism of Sir Keir.

“I do find the nature of the public remarks very disconcerting, because everybody’s watching,” she said.

“It’s not just on social media and the citizens of our respective countries. Iran is watching, China is watching, Russia is watching.

“And what they see, and that is being reinforced, is the weakening of western bonds, and that is not something we should allow.”

Sir Keir’s Labour Government has pledged to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on core defence by 2027, rising to 3% in the next parliament.

But ministers are facing pressure over the long-delayed investment plan, which was first promised last autumn.

The Government has said the spending document will be published as soon as possible amid reports that a dispute between the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury is behind the hold-up.

Ministers have previously blamed previous Tory administrations for “hollowing out” the armed forces and say they have inherited years of underinvestment.

Real-terms defence spending fluctuated under the successive Conservative governments between 2010 and 2024, falling by 22% by 2016/17, after which it steadily rose and has recently returned to 2010 levels.