Leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has sacked Robert Jenrick as the party’s Shadow Justice Secretary over claims he was secretly planning to leave the party and join a rival.
Badenoch said she was presented with “clear, irrefutable evidence” that Jenrick was “plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible” to his colleagues and the wider party.
“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I. They saw too much of it in the last government, and they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes,” she said.
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Badenoch also removed Jenrick’s parliamentary whip and suspended his party membership immediately, meaning he now sits as an independent Member of Parliament for Newark and loses all party privileges, including attending conferences or voting in leadership elections.
A shadow cabinet source told the BBC that Jenrick had left his resignation speech lying around, which someone reportedly got hold of. Another source said his behaviour showed he was “overwhelmed by personal ambition in a Macbeth type way.”
Jenrick was also a no-show in the House of Commons, where he was due to present a bill aimed at stopping terrorists and dangerous criminals from suing the prison service using human rights law.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, reacting to the sacking, questioned why Badenoch had taken so long to act.
“Jenrick has been making toxic comments to try and divide our country for months and months. It’s only now, when he’s on the verge of defecting to Reform, that Badenoch gets round to sacking him,” he said.
“The flood of Conservative politicians going across to Reform shows the Tory party is a sinking ship. Nigel Farage is welcoming these failed politicians into his ranks and building his party as a party of Tory politicians who let the country down so badly,” he added.
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake praised Badenoch, calling her action “clear, decisive, strong,” and said it reinforces her leadership.
Jenrick served as housing secretary under Boris Johnson, and later as immigration minister under Rishi Sunak.