'That's simply incorrect!’ Priti Patel slaps down claim Tories 'hollowed out' Britain's defence

Marcus Donaldson
Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:37:22 +0000

Priti Patel has slapped down a claim that the Conservatives “hollowed out” Britain’s defences while in Government as “simply incorrect”.

Speaking to GB News, the Tory Shadow Foreign Secretary insisted her party had always put “national security and our defence first”.

The former Home Secretary was discussing the current situation in Iran when host Ellie Costello raised concerns about defence cuts under previous Conservative administrations, which she said had left the country “exposed”.

Citing the previous Government’s work with Ukraine, Dame Priti shot back: “If I may say so, that's simply incorrect.”

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“We were the ones who procured the rapid anti-drone capabilities back in 2022,” she said, adding that this technology was vital in defending British allies in the Middle East during the war with Iran.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary added that under the Tories, the UK had a “fully funded munitions programme” that was “integral to our defence capabilities and support”.

She said: “Britain does invest, and we've been doing that. Even during my time in government. We've been expanding our capabilities.

“We've always been at the forefront of being strong when it comes to showing leadership and demonstrating that we put our national security and our defence first."

However, when pressed on the issue, she conceded that “times were hard” during her time in Government, with defence priorities shifting towards supporting Ukraine.

“We were supporting our ally, Ukraine, fighting a country that is Russia. Russia is a threat to our own country,” she insisted.

The top Tory added that the rapidly changing global order had made the conventional ideas of defence spending obsolete.

She said: “Look at the changing world. Look at what Iran is doing. Look at what North Korea is doing. Even in fueling this illegal war of Russia in Ukraine. We have to change our defence posture.”

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Dame Priti said that the so-called “Cold War dividend” was now out of date.

She added that the nations across the West had not been investing in a manner that “anticipated that axis of authoritarianism” represented by Russia, China, Iran and others.

To that end, the Shadow Foreign Secretary stressed the Tories were “not short on ideas” in how to remedy the situation.

Among these ideas was a new £50billion "Sovereign Defence Fund" that aims to boost defence spending by reallocating funds from environmental and R&D projects.

“This is all about government choices when it comes to spending and investment,” Dame Priti said.

Citing the ending of the two-child benefits cap, she accused the Labour Government of “choosing to spend taxpayer funds in a different way than how we would do so in government, and that is a choice Labour are making."

While the Shadow Foreign Secretary was keen to defend the Conservative record on defence, Sir James Cleverly admitted the party had “got things wrong” on the front, speaking to GB News.

The Tory Shadow Housing Minister stressed the Tories were “changing our behaviour” now in opposition.

“Kemi (Badenoch) has made it clear that when we got things wrong during our time in government, we will recognise that and we will make sure we do things differently.

“We recognise that we could and indeed should have perhaps spent more on defence,” Sir James said.

Comparing this stance to that of the Labour Government, he claimed: “The difference is we've recognised when we didn't do things right, and we're setting about changing our behaviour.