Saturday, October 31, 2026 -Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said racist attacks against her “are not going to work” after a former adviser to Nigel Farage described her as a “Nigerian scammer” in social media posts.
Badenoch was responding to comments by Raheem Kassam and the
refusal of former Conservative MP Robert Jenrick, who defected to Reform UK, to
condemn them as racist. Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Badenoch
suggested that some Reform figures believed targeting her background could
improve their political standing. “I think it just shows the sort of people
they are,” she said.
“I keep telling people that Reform politicians are not like
Conservative politicians, and I want the Reform voters who were Conservatives
to come home.” She accused her opponents of concentrating on personal attacks
rather than explaining how they would improve people’s lives.
“This is what they’re spending their time on. They’re not
talking about how they’re going to make people’s lives better. They’re spending
most of their time attacking me. You’d think that I was the prime minister,”
she said. “I think they think that maybe using my race is a way for them to
improve their standing.
“Britain is not a racist country and because it’s not a
racist country, their racist attacks and using my race as an attack form is not
going to work.” Asked about Jenrick’s position, Badenoch distanced herself from
her former colleague. “He’s not one of my MPs. He’s not my problem anymore.
He’s Nigel Farage’s problem,” she said.
Kassam, a former UKIP adviser, published several posts
attacking Badenoch over the weekend, repeatedly describing her as a scammer and
referring to her Nigerian background. In one post, he accused her of using her
heritage to advance her career when it suited her. In another, he warned people
against giving her their credit card and bank account details.
Speaking to ITV after Badenoch’s interview, Jenrick again
declined to describe the remarks as racist. “I don’t think they were… were they
unpleasant or were they rude? Maybe, but it’s not my place to police
everybody’s tweets who may or may not be a supporter of Reform,” he said.
Jenrick also challenged Badenoch’s account of receiving an
offer to study at Stanford University, accusing her of having made false claims
about a pre-med scholarship. Badenoch has maintained that she received an offer
from the university when she was 16, although she said she no longer had the
relevant documents. The Guardian had previously questioned the claim.
Farage was also asked earlier in the week whether he
considered Kassam’s comments racist. “I don’t think saying somebody grew up in
Nigeria is racist,” he told BBC Breakfast. After further questioning, he said:
“Do I think the comment was over the top? Yes, I do. Do I think it was
intentionally racist? No, I don’t.”
The dispute follows a separate controversy involving Suella
Braverman, another former Conservative who joined Reform, over remarks
interpreted as suggesting that only white people could be English. In her
conference speech earlier this month, Badenoch accused Reform of wanting to
“debate whether my mixed-race children are English”.
Labour also criticised Jenrick’s response to the comments
about Badenoch. “Sometimes Robert Jenrick must look in the mirror and not
recognise himself,” a party spokesperson said. “He can’t even call out blatant
racism against his former party leader. Calling out racism isn’t a matter of
party politics. It’s about basic decency.”
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