Kemi Badenoch has disowned her own description of Tory plans for a British missile defence system as an “Iron Dome” akin to that used by Israel, after she made the comparison in a newspaper article.
The Conservative leader also insisted the “Britannia Shield” proposals were not a gimmick after a military expert cast doubt on the costings.
Mrs Badenoch was quizzed on Tuesday morning about the plans, described by Tory officials in an overnight press release as “in essence, a British Iron Dome”.
An opinion piece for The Sun published on Tuesday in Mrs Badenoch’s name described the plans as being “modelled” on the Iron Dome.
The Israeli defence system can shoot down short-range rockets fired from up to 70km away.
But Britain and other European countries are likely to require different capabilities to target the combined threat of long-range missiles from Russia, and surprise drone attacks.
The Britannia Shield would provide a network of radar, command and control systems to detect incoming threats along with interceptor missiles and counter-drone capabilities, the Conservatives said.
In her Sun article, Mrs Badenoch wrote: “Modelled on Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’, Britannia Shield will invest £10 billion over 10 years in the radar, missiles and technology needed to detect these threats and stop them before they reach British soil.”
But as she faced scrutiny on Tuesday morning, the Tory leader insisted she had not made the comparison with the Israeli Iron Dome.
“It is going to stop things like drones and and missiles, but it’s not going to be exactly like the Iron Dome. We haven’t called it an iron dome,” she told Times Radio.
Asked by the broadcaster whether the plans were a gimmick, Mrs Badenoch replied: “No, not at all. Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge has been speaking to senior military figures. He’s a former defence procurement minister. He knows what he’s talking about, they know what they are talking about.”
Mrs Badenoch later told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We are not building the Iron Dome.
“We are doing what other European countries are doing: Greece, Benelux countries, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and Germany. We are designing something specific for the kind of threat that we face here.”
Asked why newspapers had described it as an Iron Dome, Mrs Badenoch said: “You’ll have to speak to the newspapers about that. I called it the Britannia Shield.
“But we are explaining to people that missile defence systems are things that we need right now. The Iron Dome is one type, and we want people to understand what we’re talking about, we haven’t said that we are replicating that.”
Mrs Badenoch later said she was not a defence expert when asked about the plans by LBC.
“I’m not the defence… You’ve got to speak to a defence expert about exactly how it works,” she said.
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge likened the phrase “iron dome” to the vacuum cleaner brand name Hoover when he was asked by the Press Association about the fallout over the Tories’ plans.
The missile system would protect the whole of the UK, its sovereign territories and British bases overseas, the Tories have said.
But Air Marshal Greg Bagwell, former deputy commander of RAF Air Command, told Times Radio he did not think the Tories’ pledge of £10 billion over 10 years would provide enough to do this.
He added: “Therefore it really is a question of definition of what capability you’re going to deliver here, and what you can realistically expect in terms of protection.
“You might be able to protect certain key sites, certain strategic areas. London would be an example, but of course that’s not enough.
“If you’ve got military bases all around the country, you’ve got power stations, you’ve got critical infrastructure dotted around the country, then you’re really going to have to try and cover the entire area, which is is challenging.
“And the figures you’ve already just quoted are sort of north of £80 billion. The US is talking anywhere between 200 billion and 1 trillion dollars (£150 billion to £750 billion) for their Golden Dome.”
The Conservatives have sought to sharpen political battle lines with the Labour Government over its defence policy after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said national security could not come “at the expense of social security”.
Mrs Badenoch has pledged to spend 3% of gross domestic product on defence by 2030 – a target for which Mr Burnham is yet to set his own deadline – which the Tories say would provide an additional £10 billion a year.
The Conservatives say measures such as reinstating the two-child benefit cap and reforming housing benefit would help fund the plans.
A Labour source said: “It’s no surprise Kemi Badenoch wants to forget how the Tories hollowed out our armed forces.
“But hoping her half-baked defence promise based on fantasy numbers will be forgotten just hours after it was made shows how unserious she is about our country’s security.
“The Tories can never be given responsibility for keeping Britain safe again.”
Read MoreBadenoch accuses Braverman of ‘policing other people’s identity’
Kemi Badenoch disowns own party’s claim of building British ‘Iron Dome’
Badenoch admits it would be ‘difficult’ to reinstate triple lock
Tories plan £10bn ‘British Iron Dome’ to protect UK – how would it work?
‘Window-peeping tourists have forced me out of my world-famous UK home’
Great-grandfather reunited with beloved racing bike at care home
