Penny Mordaunt: Israeli-style 'iron dome' defense system needed in UK

Sign up to the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxReceive our free View from Westminster emailPlease enter an email address valid emailPlease enter a valid email addressI would like to receive an email about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice{{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Britain should install an Israeli-style "iron dome" missile defense system, Penny Mordaunt has suggested, in an unusual intervention highlighting concerns within of the government regarding the increasingly unstable geopolitical landscape. Ms Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons and former Royal Navy reservist, again called for an increase in defense spending, saying that the government has a “duty to our citizens” to protect them as the world becomes weaker. safe.

The former Defense Secretary's comments follow another precarious week in relations between Israel and Iran. Israel launched strikes against Iran on Friday that hit military and nuclear targets deep inside the country, in retaliation for Tehran's missile and drone attacks days earlier.

The war still raging in Ukraine with no end in sight. Due to the conflict in Gaza, defense officials have stepped up calls for the UK to strengthen its defences, with one senior Conservative MP describing the Iranian strikes as a "wake-up call" to the West. /p>

The UK currently spends just over 2% of GDP on defence, but there are growing calls for this to be increased to at least 2.5%, some figures of up to 3%.

Writing for The Sunday Telegraph, in an article which could be interpreted as a pitch for the future leadership of her party, Ms Mordaunt said that The UK needed to be more ambitious about the amount of resources it spends on defence. p>

Penny Mordaunt again called for more to be spent on defence. money for defense (PA Wire)

“To those who say, about our defense ambitions, we “can’t do it,” “shouldn’t do it,” or “ "We can't afford to do this,' I say, 'Look to Israel' - a nation a fraction of our size that repelled an attack from a nation 10 times its size," she told the newspaper .

"He made a choice. That made it work. We may not have daily reminders of the threats we face, but we have the same duty to...