Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has launched a blistering attack on her former shadow cabinet colleague Robert Jenrick, accusing him of being a serial liar just one day after his dramatic defection to Nigel Farage's Reform UK party.
A Scathing Public Rebuke
Speaking publicly for the first time since Jenrick's exit, Badenoch used a GB News interview on Friday to deliver a scathing assessment of her one-time leadership rival. She stated unequivocally that Jenrick "tells a lot of lies" and "you can't believe a word that comes out of his mouth." The comments marked a stunning escalation in rhetoric against a man who, just 24 hours earlier, was a senior member of her team as shadow justice secretary.
Badenoch revealed that Jenrick had directly lied to the Conservative chief whip on the morning of his defection. "He was asked yesterday morning, 'Are you going to defect?' And he said 'never' to the chief whip," she told the broadcaster. The Tory leader said she had been aware of allegations about Jenrick's conduct, with party members and Reform sources bringing information to her about actions aimed at undermining the Conservatives.
'Spring Cleaning' and a Stronger Team
In a pointed remark aimed at Reform's leader, Badenoch said: "I'm just glad that Nigel Farage is doing my spring cleaning for me. He's taking away my problems." She argued that the Conservative parliamentary party was now "even more united than we were, because we're a stronger team," explicitly labelling Jenrick as "not a team player."
The public denunciation followed a tumultuous day in Westminster that began with Badenoch announcing via a social media video that she was sacking Jenrick from the shadow cabinet after discovering his plans to defect. Five hours later, Jenrick confirmed the move at a press conference, launching a fierce critique of his former party. He accused the Conservatives of having "broken Britain" and took aim at MPs he had been working alongside.
Reactions and Ripples Across Westminster
In an article for the Telegraph on Friday, the former shadow justice secretary urged other right-wingers to join him in Reform. "The fact is the Tory party is so compromised it cannot speak for the country and oppose Labour's madness," he wrote, adding: "If you're not already onboard, join the movement. The future of the country is on the line."
While Reform has indicated it expects further defections from the Conservatives and at least one from Labour, one of Jenrick's closest Tory allies distanced himself from the move. Nick Timothy, who has since been appointed shadow justice secretary in Jenrick's place, told Sky News that voters were "absolutely sick of the backbiting, the backstabbing and frankly, the lack of seriousness" from some politicians.
Senior Conservative figure Michael Gove suggested the events had ultimately strengthened Badenoch's position while weakening Reform. Drawing a Harry Potter analogy, he said that after the earlier defection of Nadhim Zahawi, Reform risked looking "rather more like Slytherin house" instead of a fresh political force.
Meanwhile, Labour sought to downplay Nigel Farage's claims of an impending Labour defection next week. Chancellor Rachel Reeves told ITV Tyne Tees: "Nigel Farage says a lot of things and I think we should all take those with a pinch of salt." A Labour source was more dismissive, questioning whether Farage had ever successfully previewed a significant defection in advance.
