Robert Jenrick has accused the Conservative Party of being controlled by the same 'arsonists' who damaged its reputation, in a war of words with party leader Kemi Badenoch following his defection to Reform UK. The former shadow justice secretary, who announced his move on Thursday, gave his first interview on Friday, insisting the Tories had not changed since the election.
Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, Jenrick said: 'The people who'd made those mistakes were still sat around the shadow cabinet table, the arsonists were still in control of the party, and this was not a party that was capable of even understanding what it had got wrong, let alone fixing it.' He defended his honesty, despite having told the Conservative chief whip on Thursday he would never defect.
Badenoch responded by accusing Jenrick of lying, stating: 'You can't believe a word that comes out of his mouth. This is a man who was asked yesterday morning, 'Are you going to defect?' And he said 'never' to the chief whip.' She added that Nigel Farage was 'doing my spring cleaning for me' by taking away her problems.
The defection has been welcomed by Reform MPs but also by some Conservatives who believe it strengthens Badenoch's position. Michael Gove, however, warned that Reform risked looking like 'Slytherin house' after the defection of Nadhim Zahawi earlier this week. Nick Timothy, Jenrick's replacement as shadow justice secretary, said voters were 'sick of the backbiting' and lack of seriousness.
Jenrick urged other rightwingers to join Reform, writing in the Telegraph: 'If you're not already onboard, join the movement. The future of the country is on the line.' He told Kuenssberg he was not aware of any other imminent high-profile defections. Labour dismissed suggestions of a defector to Reform next week, with Rachel Reeves saying Nigel Farage's comments should be taken 'with a pinch of salt'.
