Kemi Badenoch walked out of a television interview after repeatedly refusing to describe Robert Jenrick as “a traitor” following his defection to Reform UK, abruptly ending the exchange as questions turned to the Conservatives’ declining fortunes in Scotland.
The Conservative leader was challenged multiple times by Sky News correspondent Connor Gillies during a visit north of the border, days after she sacked Jenrick from the shadow cabinet and suspended his party membership. Badenoch insisted voters were tired of Westminster “psychodrama” and said she would not be drawn into personal labels, before laughing off a final question and leaving the interview.
The episode underlined the political fallout from Jenrick’s defection, which has exposed tensions inside the Conservative Party and sharpened attacks from Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
🗣️ Badenoch refuses to use ‘traitor’ label
During the four-minute interview with Sky News, Gillies asked Badenoch directly whether she regarded Jenrick as a traitor after he joined Reform UK.
“Is Robert Jenrick a traitor?” he asked.
Badenoch replied: “Robert Jenrick is not my problem any more.”
When the question was repeated, she deflected again, saying: “Nigel Farage can worry about that.”
Asked a third and then a fourth time, Badenoch maintained the same line, adding: “Robert Jenrick is not my problem any more, he’s Nigel Farage’s problem now.”
She went on to frame Jenrick’s departure as a benefit to her leadership, remarking: “Nigel Farage is doing my spring cleaning for me. The problems are leaving the Conservative Party and going to Reform.”
⚖️ Walk-out as polls are raised
Later in the interview, Badenoch argued that voters were not interested in internal political disputes or polling projections.
“People are not interested in all this psychodrama,” she said. “I’m the only party leader who is actually talking about the things that matter to people.”
She insisted she was “100% confident” there would be no further defections from her shadow cabinet, but became visibly irritated when questioned about the Conservatives’ weak polling position in Scotland.
“Let’s just talk about what’s happening rather than projections and polls,” she said. “I think what your viewers are interested in is how I can make their lives better.”
As Gillies attempted to ask whether it was “over for the Conservatives in Scotland”, Badenoch laughed, thanked him for the interview, and walked away.
🔄 Jenrick’s defection and leaked speech
Jenrick’s departure came just hours after Badenoch dismissed him from her frontbench, citing “clear, irrefutable evidence” that he was planning to defect. That evidence later emerged to be a copy of the speech he intended to deliver announcing his move, which was leaked to Badenoch by someone in his own office.
In the draft speech, Jenrick declared: “The Tories and Labour have forfeited the right to govern the United Kingdom. And the mantle now passes to Reform.”
It also emerged that Jenrick had first held discussions with Nigel Farage as early as September, despite repeatedly denying he had any intention of leaving the Conservative Party.
🧨 Labour and Liberal Democrats pile in
Labour chair Anna Turley criticised Jenrick’s move, accusing him of opportunism and questioning Reform’s credibility.
“Robert Jenrick says the Tories broke Britain. Now he wants to do the same again with Farage’s Reform,” she said. “He’s a shameless chancer who, like the other failed Tories who have scuttled off to Reform, is more interested in his career than the country.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper was equally scathing, describing Jenrick’s appearance alongside Farage as “a conman introducing a charlatan”.
“Robert Jenrick has an industrial-grade brass neck to complain about how broken Britain is, when it was him and his Conservative cronies who did so much damage,” she said, arguing that Reform and the Conservatives were “two sides of the same coin”.
🔥 Attacks on former colleagues
At the Westminster press conference unveiling his defection, Jenrick launched personal attacks on two former shadow cabinet colleagues. He accused shadow chancellor Mel Stride of overseeing an “explosion of the welfare bill” during his time as work and pensions secretary, and claimed shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel had “created the migration system that enabled five million migrants to come here”.
Both comments drew criticism from within Conservative circles, particularly because Jenrick had previously praised both figures publicly while serving alongside them.
A senior party source told HuffPost UK: “Knifing two colleagues like that is spectacularly bad form. I hope they duff him up in the lobby next week.”
🧭 A leadership balancing act
For Badenoch, the interview walk-out reflects a broader attempt to draw a line under the defection and reassert control of her party’s narrative. By refusing to label Jenrick a traitor, she has sought to avoid inflaming internal divisions while still presenting his departure as a cleansing moment.
Whether that strategy resonates with voters, particularly in Scotland where the Conservatives face steep challenges, remains uncertain. What is clear is that Jenrick’s exit continues to dominate attention, despite Badenoch’s insistence that she wants to move on.
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