Kemi Badenoch has sacked Robert Jenrick as the Conservative Party’s shadow justice spokesperson, removed the whip and suspended his party membership, alleging “irrefutable” evidence he was secretly plotting to defect in a way intended to inflict maximum damage on his colleagues.
The Conservative leader announced the move in a post on X, saying she took action “with immediate effect.” Badenoch wrote: “I was presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible to his shadow cabinet colleagues and the wider Conservative Party.”
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“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she added. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government.”
The sacking escalates tensions inside the Conservatives over the threat posed by Reform UK and comes amid a steady drumbeat of speculation about defections from the Tory benches. It also highlights the stakes for Badenoch as she seeks to impose discipline on her top team and stabilize the party’s position.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he had not planned to unveil Jenrick as a defector at a scheduled press conference in London this afternoon. Pressed on whether he had been speaking to the former shadow justice lead, Farage replied: “I never reveal private conversations of anybody, which is why when people like Malcolm (Offord) came to me to talk, and he was a frontbencher, nothing ever leaked.”
Farage acknowledged he had been in touch with senior Conservatives in recent weeks. “I’m going to say that I’ve had conversations with a number of very senior Conservatives over the course of the last week, over the course of the last month,” he said.
Asked again if he had spoken to Jenrick, Farage said: “Of course I’ve talked to Robert Jenrick. Was I on the verge of signing a document with him? No. But have we had conversations? Yes.”
When pressed on whether Jenrick had been considering leaving the Conservatives for Reform, Farage replied: “I think virtually every Conservative is considering leaving the Conservatives, yes,” adding, “I think that’s been in his mind, yes. I’ve little doubt it’s been in his mind.”
Badenoch’s decision removes Jenrick from the Shadow Cabinet and formally severs his ties with the parliamentary party. Her public rebuke — invoking the public’s frustration with “political psychodrama” — underscores an effort to draw a line under internal intrigue and present a unified Conservative front amid Reform UK’s challenge.
The developments place fresh scrutiny on the Conservatives’ internal cohesion and on Farage’s ongoing courtship of disaffected Tories. As both leaders jockey for momentum, the immediate consequence is clear: one of the party’s most prominent figures is out of the top team, and the battle for restless Conservative voters — and politicians — is intensifying.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
