Robert Jenrick has been sacked as shadow justice secretary and suspended from the Conservative Party amid widespread speculation he was planning to defect to Reform UK.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said there was “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible” to his colleagues, with the chief whip informing him of his dismissal over the phone on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage said he had “of course” had conversations with the former senior frontbencher, but said that he was “very surprised” by the announcement, and that he had not come to any agreement with the former shadow justice secretary.
Mr Jenrick has attracted speculation about leadership ambitions since being defeated in his bid to take over the party’s reins in 2024, repeatedly breaking shadow cabinet ranks and becoming increasingly vocal on social media on issues such as immigration.
However, while it had been rumoured that the Newark MP had been courting Reform, reportedly having dinner with Mr Farage last month, their relationship has been far from smooth. Just last year, they traded insults on social media, with Mr Farage referring to him as a “fraud” while Mr Jenrick had previously said he wished to send the Clacton MP “back to retirement”.
What has Robert Jenrick said about Nigel Farage and Reform?
During a UCL Conservative Society dinner last March, Mr Jenrick ruffled feathers after he appeared to suggest he was determined to “bring this coalition together” when discussing the threat posed by Reform. Soon afterwards, Ms Badenoch dismissed any prospect of a pact with Mr Farage’s party and brushed off talk of “stitch-ups before an election”.
Soon afterwards, Mr Jenrick struck a different tone during an appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, stating: “Well look, Kemi Badenoch and I are on exactly the same page. Kemi has been very clear there won’t be a pact with Reform, and I’ve said time and again that I want to put Reform out of business. I want to send Nigel Farage back to retirement.”
In May, Mr Jenrick took aim at Reform backing the lifting of the two-child benefit cap, writing on X: “Why is Farage backing this policy?
“Has he cooked this up after one too many pints at his local? Has a joint found its way into his usual pack of Marlboro Golds?”
As recently as last August, Jenrick accused Reform’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf of “pushing another two lies” about his position on migrant hotels and an illegal immigration holding centre in Kent.
Mr Jenrick wrote on X: “I see Reform’s former chairman, Zia Yusuf, has unfortunately pushed another two lies about me. One of which he’s already had to delete.”
On the Manston arrivals and processing centre, he said: “The idea I was ‘bragging’ about opening hotels, or that I thought they were a good thing, is clearly absurd. A complete lie.”
In another jab, Mr Jenrick took aim at the Reform UK leader’s appearance at the Cheltenham races, stating that he had “swanned off” to forget his troubles, while the Tories remained committed to stopping the “two-tier sentencing rules”.
What has Farage said about Jenrick?
In recent years, Mr Farage’s approach to Mr Jenrick could be described as lukewarm at best. He thanked him once for co-signing his ECHR withdrawal bill, which was voted down in the Commons last October, and had previously said he was “more than happy” to discuss a potential defection.
However, he has also wrote on X last August: “Jenrick is a fraud. I’ve alway thought so, this quote proves it.” He also shared a picture of the MP with his quote from November 2022 when he was immigration minister, which read: “More hotels have been coming online almost every month throughout the whole year. What I have done is procure even more.”
In a separate post, Mr Farage said: “When Robert Jenrick was immigration minister he grew the number of illegal migrants living in free hotels to 56,000. He is no friend of Epping.”
In another scathing takedown while Mr Jenrick was running for Tory leader, he said: “Formerly a man that believed in nothing, Robert Jenrick now pitches himself as the great hardliner. This is almost certainly done for political gain and not out of conviction. He will divide the party. I doubt that Jenrick will last long if he wins.”
Yet with news that Mr Jenrick could be about to join Reform UK, a reset on their relationship is looking likely, with Mr Farage telling reporters on Thursday afternoon: “I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” before adding: “I might even buy him a pint.”
