Kemi Badenoch has warned that Britain risks being treated as a "poodle" by Donald Trump unless it increases investment in its national defence.
The Conservative Party leader said the UK would be viewed as weak on the world stage if it failed to rebuild its military and strategic capabilities. Speaking to The Telegraph, Mrs Badenoch argued that restoring Britain's standing depended on prioritising security alongside economic reform.
She said: "Getting Britain working again means fixing our economy and fixing our country, and that means putting our national interest first and rebuilding our defences.
"Otherwise we will end up being poodles as the US annexes Greenland and we're slapped with tariffs because we have not shown any strength."
Mrs Badenoch also attacked Robert Jenrick, the former shadow justice secretary who defected to Reform UK last week, dismissing his resignation speech as "narrow, inward-looking and performative". She criticised the speech for failing to address international threats or Britain's role in global security.
She said it contained "nothing about Russia's war in Europe, nothing about China's growing economic and security penetration and nothing about Iran, North Korea, cyber warfare, AI, or the erosion of the rules-based order".
According to Mrs Badenoch, Reform UK's posture as an anti-establishment force masks a lack of seriousness on national security. "Reform presents itself as insurgent and anti-establishment, yet it displays no serious interest in national security at all," she said.
"It's not just the fact that their leader in Wales was taking bribes from Russia, but that they are afraid to speak seriously about hostile states, alliances, defence, intelligence, or economic security, and when they aren't afraid they don't know what to say."
Her comments follow a turbulent week for the Conservatives. Mr Jenrick was expelled from the party after a leaked copy of his resignation speech was obtained by party headquarters. Hours after Mrs Badenoch confirmed she had removed him from his shadow Cabinet role and expelled him, he held a press conference to announce his defection to Reform UK.
