Leader also says party is ‘not out of the woods’ and she would rather have another election than form coalition with Reform

Kemi Badenoch has denied she compared a new air defence system proposed by the Conservative party to Israel’s Iron Dome, despite using the term in her press release and a newspaper article.

The Tory leader said the party’s proposed “Britannia Shield” would not be comparable to the missile defence system in Israel, which is primarily designed to counter short-range attacks.