We've just heard from Kemi Badenoch on BBC Breakfast - here's a recap of what she said:

• Badenoch started with a tribute to Jeffrey Archer, saying she was "shocked" to learn of his death after receiving a text from the former Tory MP yesterday morning
• She was then quizzed about her pledge to invest £10bn in a "British Iron Dome" air defence system, which she says is needed because the nature of warfare is changing
• Badenoch insisted the pledge was affordable, with cuts to the welfare budget and net zero spending already proposed
• Finally, she was asked about her party's candidate selection for the next election - she said she only wanted "serious people" and insisted she was leading a "new Conservative Party"

As a reminder, we'll also hear from the Conservative leader on Radio 4's Today programme from 08:10 BST.

Asked about new candidates being recruited into the Conservative Party across the country - and whether Penny Mordaunt will ever return - Badenoch says: "I'm not the person who is deciding who gets elected where", calling the Conservatives a "democratic party".

She says local associations will pick the candidates they want.

"I want the public to know this is a new Conservative Party," she adds, saying "many new people will be joining" the party.

But "I only want serious people", she says.

Badenoch is quizzed about how the Conservatives would find £10bn to fund the new air defence system, as well as committing to the pensions triple lock and expanding those eligible for childcare support.

She insists the new drone defence system can be paid for, with £1bn earmarked every year for 10 years.

Badenoch says her party has already set out where savings will come from, including from the welfare budget, repurposing funding for net zero, and reinstating the two-child benefit cap.

She also says her party is looking at ways to restrict local housing allowances, adding that she would not cut taxes until there was money to pay for it.

"We know that difficult choices have to be made," she adds.

Asked about her party's latest defence announcement - to create a defence system named "Britannia Shield" - she says it is a missile defence system that is needed because warfare is changing.

She says she has been listening to people like Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky and it is clear that global threats today "are different".

The policy would involve "investing £1bn a year over 10 years" so if a hostile country fires a drone or poses another threat to the UK, "we're able to protect ourselves".

Asked whether the system - compared to Israel's Iron Dome - would be different to the Israeli one, she says that "what we are seeing with drone technology is that people can get close enough to fire drones at the UK". She says this is what is being seen at bases like Cyprus.

She says the "Conservatives are thinking about the future", adding that they have explained where the money to pay for it would come from.

On Labour, she says: "I want our government to be doing something like this but they're not talking about defence at all." She says the country "need[s] to start getting ready now".

Badenoch is first asked about the death of Jeffrey Archer, who she says texted her only yesterday morning to compliment her "great outfit" and "great speech".

The Conservative leader says she was "shocked" to learn of his death, that he lived a "colourful life" and was "very much loved by the Conservative family".

Badenoch describes him as someone who "believed in Conservatism" and as being a "great storyteller".

She also acknowledges controversial parts of his life, but says he made amends and "wanted to do a lot of good in the world".

Kemi Badenoch is now speaking to BBC Breakfast - you can follow along and watch live at the top of the page.

We'll bring you key lines from the interview in our next few posts.

We are now entering day three of the Conservative Party conference, which kicked off on Sunday. Here are some pictures from the event in Birmingham so far.

Yesterday's events included a speech from shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith, while leader Kemi Badenoch's keynote speech will take place tomorrow.

Image source, EPA

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

Kemi Badenoch's morning media round comes after the death of bestselling author and former politician Jeffrey Archer.

The former Conservative MP sold more than 300 million books in his five-decade writing career, including the Clifton Chronicles, and Kane and Abel.

Archer's publisher HarperCollins said the author died "suddenly and peacefully at home" between writing sessions.

In a social media post, Badenoch described the news of Archer's death as "a huge shock", adding that she was "incredibly saddened" and calling him "a great source of encouragement to me personally".

Archer served as an MP for five years from 1969 before becoming Conservative Party deputy chairman. His political career was paused in 2001 when he was jailed for four years for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

He was released in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords until he retired in 2024.

Dan Woodland
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

The "Britannia Shield" isn't the only policy the Conservatives have announced in recent weeks to earmark what they'd do if the party returned to government.

Here's a quick rundown:

• The Tories would scrap the "cliff edge" that means parents in England lose out on childcare support when they earn more than £100,000 a year
• Badenoch has vowed to keep the state pension triple lock, which Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to change if Labour wins the next election
• The party has promised to build 50,000 new prison places in England and Wales to stop criminals being released early. It would cost £2bn per year to build and run the new prisons, funded by spending cuts including to the foreign aid budget
• The Conservatives would introduce new work requirements for under-25s claiming benefits, including introducing new rules for payments for young people who are fit to work but have not worked for six months continuously

• The party has also promised to prevent long-term jobless benefit claimants from spending their welfare payments on alcohol, cigarettes and gamblingby introducing changes to the Universal Credit scheme

Image source, Getty Images

The Conservatives have pledged to invest £10bn in a new missile and drone defence system to defend the UK if they win the next general election.

The party says the so-called "Britannia Shield" would provide an integrated network of radar, command and control systems, as well as interceptor missiles.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge is expected to describe the pledge as "the most significant upgrade to UK air defence for generations" when he delivers a speech at the Conservative Party conference later today.

The Tories have described their plans as "a British 'Iron Dome'" - a reference to Israel's air defence system.

The party says it will be capable of defending the UK's critical national infrastructure, military bases and sovereign territories from sophisticated threats.

But Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has said the Tories had an "abysmal record" of defending Britain during their 14 years in power, adding: "They owe Britain an apology, not another lecture."

You can read more here.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Kemi Badenoch is kicking off day three of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham with a morning media run.

The opposition leader has vowed her party is renewed and different from the one that lost the 2024 general election in a historic defeat.

There has been a flurry of new policy announcements from the Tories in recent days, including scrapping the £100,000 net income threshold on free childcare, building an extra 50,000 prison places, and new work requirements for under-25s claiming benefits.

The party is also set to share more details about their plan to invest £10bn in a new missile and drone defence system - the so-called "Britannia Shield". We'll have more on this policy in our next post.

Badenoch will be speaking to BBC Breakfast at 07:30 BST, and to Radio 4's Today programme at 08:10

• Stay with us as we bring you key lines and developments - you will also be able to watch her interview at the top of this page