US EditionRobert Jenrick sacked from Tory shadow cabinet over ‘plotting’ to defect
Jenrick was removed after evidence showed he plotted a damaging defection amid ongoing Tory losses to Reform UK, which has attracted several senior Conservative defectors.
- In a video posted on X at 11:06am today, Badenoch declared she had sacked Robert Jenrick from the shadow cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership.
- Badenoch said she acted after being presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that Jenrick was plotting in secret to defect and Conservative sources say material was accidentally left by Jenrick’s team showing contacts with Reform UK, including a dinner last month.
- Reform UK invited journalists to a 4.30pm press conference at its HQ today, but Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader, denied plans to unveil Jenrick and said he was very surprised by the sacking.
- Party figures warned the sacking could deepen splits and prompt further defections to Reform UK after the Conservative Party's heavy losses last year.
- Jenrick had emerged as a leading rightward voice after last year's Conservative party conference, intensifying a cold war with Kemi Badenoch and showing openness to deals with Reform UK.
113 Articles
113 Articles
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has sacked British shadow cabinet minister Robert Jenrick, claiming he was planning to join Nigel Farage's right-wing populist Reform party. Jenrick ran for the party's leadership in the last Tory leadership election but had to concede to Badenoch.
'Ding dong the traitor is dead': Inside the Tory civil war as Jenrick defects
Kemi Badenoch’s sacking of Robert Jenrick arrived like a bolt out of the blue. A two-minute video appeared on X on Thursday morning, accusing her former leadership rival of “plotting” to defect to Reform and inflict “maximum” damage on her party. But in reality, the Tory leader’s decision to fire the most prominent member of her Shadow Cabinet has been months in the making. According to party insiders, the Conservative leadership team had picked…
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