Who is Danny Kruger? Meet the Brexiteer Tory MP who has defected to Nigel Farage's Reform UK

The Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions was born in Westminster in October 1974 to South African parents.

His mother is the renowned chef and Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith, whilst his father Rayne worked as both an author and property developer.

Following private schooling at Eton, Mr Kruger pursued historical studies at Edinburgh University, where he edited a publication called 'Intercourse'.

He completed his academic journey with a doctoral degree from Oxford in 2000.

His stance on Britain's relationship with Europe became clear during the 2016 referendum when he backed leaving the EU.

This position aligned with his later role at the Legatum Institute, a think tank advocating for Brexit, where he served as a senior fellow before moving to government advisory positions in 2018.

His political journey began at the Centre for Policy Studies think tank in 2001, where he served as research director. Between 2003 and 2005, he advised the Conservative Party's Policy Unit and contributed to speeches for then-leader Iain Duncan Smith.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• WATCH: Danny Kruger admits he's taking 'significant personal risk'
• First Channel migrants could be returned to France on passenger flights as soon as today
• WATCH: Alex Burghart delivers scathing verdict on Labour's migrant exchange deal

A brief stint as The Daily Telegraph's chief lead writer ended when he attempted to challenge Tony Blair in Sedgefield during the 2005 election.

His candidacy collapsed after The Guardian reported his comments about implementing "creative destruction in the public services."

David Cameron recruited him as chief speechwriter in 2006, where Mr Kruger penned the controversial "hug-a-hoodie" address promoting compassionate conservatism.

His government connections strengthened when Boris Johnson appointed him political secretary in August 2019, a position he held until winning the Devizes seat that December.

Mr Kruger first entered Parliament representing the now defunct Devizes constituency in 2019 with over 63 per cent of votes cast.

His tenure featured several contentious moments, including defending Dominic Cummings during lockdown breach allegations and being photographed without a face covering on public transport, which he dismissed as "simply forgetting."

His social conservative views sparked controversy in May 2023 when he argued that marriage between men and women formed "the only basis for a safe and successful society."

He also stated during a 2022 abortion debate that women don't possess "an absolute right to bodily autonomy."

After serving as Parliamentary Private Secretary under Michael Gove, he resigned during Boris Johnson's leadership crisis.

Re-elected for East Wiltshire in 2024 with a majority of 4,716, Mr Kruger recently opposed assisted dying legislation before today's defection to Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

He said: "I hoped after our defeat last year that the Conservative Party would learn the obvious lesson, that the old ways don’t work, that centrism is not enough, that real change is needed.

"But no. We have had a year of stasis and drift and the sham unity that comes from not doing anything bold or difficult or controversial."

Mr Kruger continued: "And the result is in the polls. And those lost voters aren’t coming back, and every day, more and more people are joining them in deserting a party that has failed.

"And so this is my tragic conclusion: the Conservative Party is over, over as a national party, over as the principal opposition to the left."

Nigel Farage said: "On Friday, there were some very explicit threats posted on TikTok for me to be killed, pretty sick in the light of what happened to Charlie Kirk but quite explicit.

"I have been told this morning by the Metropolitan Police that those posts don’t meet the threshold for further action. So I think we are, without doubt, living in a two tier country. It is extraordinary."