Badenoch warns UK risks becoming Trump's 'poodle'

Kemi Badenoch has warned against Britain becoming a “poodle” to Donald Trump, while promising to rebuild the country’s defences if she became prime minister amid mounting global instability.

- MILLIE COOKE POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

The Tory leader also took aim at Reform UK, saying the party is “afraid to speak seriously about hostile states”. Her comments come amid growing global instability, with Donald Trump threatening to hit the UK and Europe with fresh tariffs over their opposition to his threats to annex Greenland. Meanwhile, Ms Badenoch’s party has suffered a difficult week after Robert Jenrick defected to Reform.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Ms Badenoch warned Britain must invest in its defences to avoid being seen as weak on the international stage. “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”, she said.