15 January 2026 , 12:36
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has dismissed Robert Jenrick ’with immediate effect’ over a ’secret plot’ to defect to Reform UK.
The Conservative MP for Newark was removed from the Shadow Cabinet and had his party membership suspended after the Tory leader put an end to what she termed "political psychodrama".
The Tory leader did not specify which party Mr Jenrick was planning to switch to, but Reform UK leader Nigel Farage confirmed minutes later that he has “of course” had conversations with the senior Tory.
Describing how she was "presented with clear, irrefutable evidence" of his intended defection, Badenoch stated that the MP was not simply "preparing to defect" but "planning to do so in the most damaging way possible to the Conservative Party and his Shadow Cabinet colleagues".
Mr Jenrick is said to have left material ’lying around’ that demonstrated his intentions and sparked the action - reportedly a speech and a ‘media plan’.
Jenrick is expected to join a growing list of Conservatives who have defected from the party to Reform UK in recent months.
Taking to X on Thursday, Kemi Badenoch wrote: "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," she insisted.
It comes as Nigel Farage confirmed on Thursday that discussions had taken place between Reform UK and Mr Jenrick.
Mr Farage’s comments follow speculation surrounding Mr Jenrick’s leadership ambitions, after the MP was beaten in his bid for the party’s reins in 2024.
Mr Farage added that he intends to call Robert Jenrick this afternoon, following his departure from the Conservatives.
“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” the Reform UK leader told reporters at the Edinburgh press conference.
He added: “I might even buy him a pint.”
Last month senior Reform UK figures suggested Nigel Farage was seeking to secure his defection and urged him to be appointed as his shadow Chancellor.
Mr Jenrick was said by Tories colleagues to be “down” after a resurgence in support for Kemi Badenoch’s leadership.
He lost the leadership contest to her last November and the Tory leader is seen by colleagues to have performed well in recent months.
Speaking as he announced Reform UK’s Scottish leader at a press conference on Thursday, Mr Farage addressed the news of Mr Farage’s departure.
The party had held off on appointing a leader until just months before the election in May, despite previous assurances from deputy leader Richard Tice one would not be selected until after votes were cast.
Politics Editor