New defence secretary Grant Shapps has pushed back against critics of his appointment citing his experience and highlighting his background as a descendant of Jewish refugees.

Writing for the Mail on Sunday, Shapps said it was a “huge honour” to be appointed to the role in the country that provided his family with safety after enduring anti-Jewish pogroms in Eastern Europe.

He said: “At the end of the 19th century, my family fleeing persecution and pogroms in Eastern Europe sought safe haven. They found it here, in the nation that gave them the gift of freedom. A gift I will do everything I can to preserve, to pass on to generations to come.”

Critics accused Shapps of lacking the necessary experience for the role and say he is unlikely to stand up for the Armed Forces in funding negotiations.

But the Welwyn Hatfield MP insisted “defence is in my DNA" and referred to his grandfather Morris Grossman and uncle Solly Shapps who fought in North Africa during the Second World War.

He said: "Though I might be new to defence, defence is in the DNA.Not because my Uncle Solly Shapps - who called me 'old blue eyes' when I was too young to have heard of Frank Sinatra - fought in North Africa. Nor is it because my grandpa Morris Grossman told me about his battles in that distant desert theatre."

Among those who expressed doubt about his appointment was former chief of the general staff Richard Dannatt, who last week said Shapps knew “very little about defence” adding, “It’s a complex portfolio. It will take him quite some time to get up to speed.”

Dismissing charges of inexperience, Shapps said: “I’m not new to international security. From my time chairing Cobra and serving on the National Security Council, I’ve come to appreciate the dangers our nation faces.”

Supporters of Shapps point to his rapid response to the Covid pandemic as transport secretary and his key role in the UK’s response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The new defence secretary said he was looking forward to continuing the government’s “unwavering support to Ukrainians at this important time for European and global security,”

Shapps is the first Jewish defence secretary in nearly 30 years, after Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a Scottish MP whose family emigrated from Lithuania in the 1890s, held the role from 1992 to 1995.