Robert Jenrick blasts Tories for resorting to 'personal insults' with 'disgusting' Suella Braverman remark after Reform defection

Pledging allegiance to Nigel Farage, Mrs Braverman said: "I'm calling time on Tory betrayal, Tory lies, on Tory promises with zero intention of keeping them.

"Our country is crying out for authentic leadership. We can either continue down this route of managed decline to weakness and surrender, or we can fix our country, reclaim our power, rediscover our strength."

Following Mrs Braverman's speech, a Conservative Party spokesman statement said: "It was always a matter of when, not if, Suella would defect.

"The Conservatives did all we could to look after Suella’s mental health, but she was clearly very unhappy. She says she feels that she has 'come home; which will come as a surprise to the people who chose not to elect a Reform MP in her constituency in 2024."

Expressing his outrage at the statement, Mr Jenrick told GB News: "I thought it's absolutely disgusting for the leader of the opposition to put out a statement, attempting to besmirch Suella Braverman, it was absolutely appalling.

"They're obviously lashing out, they're very angry that Conservatives are choosing to leave and go to Reform, and they're not engaging with the issues."

Noting that he was faced with the same reaction from the Tories, he added: "The same happened to me, where the world and his wife piled in, attacking me, throwing insults left, right and centre, but not confronting the actual argument that I was making when I said Britain is broken and the Conservative Party helped to break it.

"They won't win that argument, they know they won't, and so they're just going for personal insults. It's sad, but that's the way it is. People who really want to fix this country have got to rally behind Reform."

Admitting he is "really pleased" for Mrs Braverman following her defection, the Reform MP said: "I'm really pleased because Suella has been a good friend to me. She's a great MP and she obviously shares, embodies the values of Reform.

"She has fought to leave the ECHR, to secure our borders, to be tough on crime, end wokery in our police, our schools, she loves this country, is a patriotic woman and she will be a brilliant Reform MP."

He argued: "You can see that Nigel is putting together a strong team, which is going to have a detailed, comprehensive plan to actually fix this country. And that's what we need to do right now.

"Britain is broken, as Nigel has said, despite what Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch say to the contrary. But we want to do is get rid of them, win the general election and turn this country around."

Naming another Tory MP who "shares the values" of Reform, Mr Jenrick revealed: "When Suella and I voted against the last Conservative Government because it had a weak version of Rwanda that would never have worked in getting the illegal migrants out of the country, there was only one other sitting member of parliament who came through the lobby with us, and that was Mark Francois.

"There were 11 of us in total, only one is now a sitting Conservative MP, and that tells you a lot about what's happened that the decent, patriotic Conservative MPs have chosen to rally behind Nigel and Reform, and I would urge anyone else who shares our values to do the same.

"Because the only way we're going to fix this country, the next general election, if you're a long-standing Tory voter. I know it's tough because we're all creatures of habit, and loyalty is important, but ultimately the country matters more and you've got to back Reform."

Asked by host Martin Daubney if he believes he and Mrs Braverman were "blocked" from making policy decisions under Rishi Sunak, Mr Jenrick agreed: "There is a group of decent, patriotic Conservative MPs who did the right thing in Government, tried to push the Conservative Party to be a better version of itself, but were constantly frustrated, and Suella was undoubtedly one of those.

"And after the general election, there were people like me who were painfully honest about what the Tory party got wrong on immigration, on tax, on the public services, urged the party to change, but ultimately came to the same conclusion that I have, which is that most of the Conservative Party doesn't agree with that. It's not sorry for the mistakes it made in the past. It's not going to change.

"And if it did ever manage to get back into Government, which seems very unlikely, it would make the same mistakes all over again. So you've got to rally behind Nigel, rally behind Reform and ensure that there is a good, strong Government of the centre right after the next general election that will actually keep its word this time and sort out these problems."

The Tories were forced to withdraw their statement on Mrs Braverman's defection, blaming its mental health jibe on it being an "early draft" version.

Its newest version remains almost the same, but with the controversial remark omitted.

Mrs Badenoch's party has also issued an apology for the error.