Zia Yusuf breaks silence after Robert Jenrick defects to Reform amid fears of 'infighting'

Mr Jenrick's dramatic departure from the Conservative Party shook Westminster after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch ousted her Shadow Justice Secretary from his position when his "secret" plot to defect to Nigel Farage's party came to light.

And, just a few hours later on the very same day, Mr Farage unveiled the grinning ex-Tory leadership contender as his newest MP, describing the move as a "late Christmas present" from Mrs Badenoch.

But now the recruitment of the former Conservative has reignited debate over the possiblity of "infighting" between the big beasts, who have often taken part in a war of words online.

In the past, the pair have refused to shy away from mud-slinging, launching political jibes at one another in the public eye.

Formerly described as political rivals, Mr Yusuf and Mr Jenrick locked horns as recently as last summer after the ex-Immigration Minister insisted he had "fought tooth and nail" to slash migration figures.

He fired back at Mr Yusuf: "Did the last Government do enough? No. That’s why I resigned.

"But enough about me. Why do your own colleagues call you Zia Useless?"

Mr Yusuf then hit back, saying: “Robert, everyone in Westminster hears what you have been saying to the wet Tory MPs, how you are only "pivoting right to hurt Reform" and then will go back to the centre, where you came from.

"This true? Is that what you were telling Cameron at Osborne at that cosy dinner recently?"

He further claimed Mr Jenrick's colleagues "fume that [he] will say anything to get attention, believe in nothing, and will trample their briefs in the name of getting ahead".

The pair's spat persisted after Mr Yusuf's X account was revealed to have liked an antisemitic post which called Mr Jenrick, whose Israeli-born wife is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, a "traitorous Zogbot".

The word "Zogbot" is in reference to the Zionist Occuptation Government conspiracy theory, which claims that Jews control world Governments secretly and impose Zionism upon them.

Mr Yusuf was quick to apologise, posting: "One of the team who post to my X account accidentally pressed like on an awful antisemitic tweet earlier today. I apologise for this.

"The post also refers to 'brown savages', and is equally racist against me. Clearly it was not intentional."

But now the policy chief has appeared to change his tone towards the new recruit, telling GB News: "The group of us had dinner just a couple of nights ago, and as I said, we've got a great working relationship.

"We are still procuring the talent that we need at Reform. So I would not pay any attention to all of those palace intrigue rumours because they're just not true."

A Reform source told GB News: "We are crystal clear: no mroe Tories will be accepted after May. They will face electoral wipeout in May, and there will be no salvation."

But Mr Jenrick's ire has appeared to turn on his own party, of which he had been a member since 16, as he blasted their record and lamented the state of "broken Britain".

Taking aim at his former party's legacy, he told GB News: "It's Priti Patel as Shadow Foreign Secretary who created the points-based system to let all the migrants in.

"Mel Stride, a Shadow Chancellor who didn't bear down on the welfare bill when he was Work and Pensions Secretary. You know, I can go on and on and on.

"I've tried to be honest, more honest than anyone else about the Tory party's failures, and I've concluded the Tory party can't face up to its past, let alone set out the future.

"Kemi Badenoch, she can't handle the truth."

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter