ROBERT Jenrick has tonight defected to Reform with an excoriating attack on Kemi Badenoch.
He jumped ship to Reform after Kemi Badenoch pre-emptively sacked him amid accusations he was plotting to undermine her.
The Tory leader this morning accused her former leadership rival of plotting to jump ship “in a way designed to be as damaging as possible”.
Ms Badenoch has also stripped him of the Tory whip, meaning he is now an independent MP.
Just seconds before the press conference started the Tories released bombshell “extracts of the evidence”.
They claimed it revealed Mr Jenrick’s “planned defection”.
It said: “I am convinced Nigel will deliver the real change needed.
“I am proud to become Reform’s 281,000th member. To back Nigel. And join this movement. I know in my heart it’s what’s right by our country.”
In the extract, Mr Jenrick allegedly told Tories to desert the party: “Don’t stay in a party that hasn’t been loyal to you. When your country needs you.”
She said: “I have sacked Robert Jenrick from the Shadow Cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership with immediate effect.
“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.
“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I.
“They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”
But Mr Farage today said had not “signed and sealed” a deal with Mr Jenrick yet despite having conversations with him.
The Reform boss said: “I’m very surprised that this news has broken.
“I never reveal private conversations with anybody which is why people like [Malcolm] Offord came to me to talk and he was a frontbencher, nothing ever leaked.
“So 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.
“And a lot of them realise that for all the talk that Kemi’s doing better at PMQs, for all the talk of a supposed Kemi bounce, that on May 7 or should I say May 8 the Conservative Party will cease to be a national party.”
He added: “As far as Mr Jenrick’s concerned, 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.”
Tory chief whip Rebecca Harris rang Mr Jenrick this morning to inform him of his sacking.
All the signs were there
By JACK ELSOM, Political Editor
KEMI Badenoch’s sacking of Robert Jenrick appears to be a bolt from the blue – but all the signs were there.
The Tory leader has in recent months strengthened her grip on the party and won the confidence of members and MPs.
A solid party conference, improved Commons performances, and marginally better polling has silenced her internal critics.
Far from the frenzied talk of Badenoch being ousted, she now appears safe from a leadership challenge.
At least for the time being.Which has meant there is no opening for Jenrick – her former arch rival – to stage a second coming as everyone knows he wants.
There is no love lost between him and Badenoch, whereas there IS mutual respect between him and Nigel Farage.
A defection to Reform would have inevitably been a blow to Badenoch even if Tories cried it as sour grapes.
But by sacking him preemptively, the Conservative leader has taken the sting out of any resignation and put Jenrick on the back foot.
If Jenrick is an isolated case, it could be advantage Kemi. But if Jenrick – who still has lots of MP allies in the party – opens the floodgates for more defections, it could get messy.
Mr Jenrick is said to have protested his innocence before putting the phone down.
Senior Tory sources say Team Jenrick left some incriminating evidence he was poised to defect “lying around” that made its way to Ms Badenoch.
They also point to a dinner Mr Jenrick had with Mr Farage last month, as well as people close to him making overtures to Reform.
Tory MP Nick Timothy has been promoted to shadow justice secretary.
Ms Badenoch’s intervention follows months of swirling rumours that Mr Jenrick was preparing to defect to Reform UK.
The Shadow Justice Secretary ran against Ms Badenoch in the bruising summer 2024 Tory leadership contest, ultimately finishing second.
Westminster gossip has intensified in recent weeks that Nigel Farage was poised to unveil Mr Jenrick as Reform UK’s latest high-profile recruit.
Despite publicly pledging loyalty to Ms Badenoch, Mr Jenrick had repeatedly strayed beyond his brief – often weighing in on issues including tax and migration.
He had also called for Britain to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights long before it became official Tory policy last year.
