Badenoch apologises for Braverman mental health claim

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has apologised for a party statement which made reference to Suella Braverman's mental health following her defection to Reform UK.

An initial statement, which the party later said was sent in error, said "the Conservatives did all we could to look after Suella's mental health, but she was clearly very unhappy".

Badenoch told the BBC the comment was "completely wrong and not the kind of culture we should have in our party".

However, in a speech she branded defectors "drama queens", saying people who did not agree with the direction she was taking the party "need to get out the way".

The Tories had faced a backlash over the statement from mental health charities and politicians on all sides.

Braverman said the reference to her mental health was "a bit pathetic" and "more signs of a bitter and desperate party that seems to be in free-fall".

Asked if she had apologised for the statement, Badenoch told the BBC: "Yes, that has come out from me. That should never have gone out. It has been retracted. And I've also spoken to the person who sent it.

"It was completely wrong and not the kind of culture we should have in our party."

She was the third sitting Tory MP to join Reform UK in less than two weeks, following Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell, taking the party's tally of MPs to eight.

It comes after former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi also joined the party earlier this month.

Addressing the defections of Braverman, Jenrick and Zahawi in her speech, Badenoch said: "To those who are defecting, who don't actually disagree with our policies, I will say I'm sorry you didn't win the leadership contest.

"I'm sorry you didn't get a job in the shadow cabinet. I'm sorry you didn't get into the Lords, but you are not offering a plan to fix this country. This is a tantrum dressed up as politics."

During Deputy Prime Minister's Questions, David Lammy joked that Tory MPs were "lining up" to join Reform "while they squabble about the damage that they did to our country".

In her speech, Badenoch also took aim at former politicans who "are in denial" and "don't want to admit that immigration is too high".

"Some people say that we need to split the difference and find the centre ground," she said.

"It's not about the centre ground, it's about the common ground and it is about common sense."

She added that "most people in our country want to control immigration" and the Tories were "a mainstream party".

The initiative - named Prosper UK - aims to win back centrist voters who feel "politically homeless".

Asked how damaging the new movement could be to the Conservative Party, Badenoch said: "Anybody who is trying to push an agenda that is not the platform I stood on is not being helpful."

She added: "If they've got new ideas which are on the right, not left-wing ideas, and we will welcome them. But right now we need to move away from any sort of factionalism or groupings."

The Conservative leader said her party was "not a party of the left and we should not be accommodating people who want to paint that picture".

Asked if this referred to Davidson and Sir Andy, Badenoch denied this, telling the BBC: "Ruth Davidson and Andy Street have been very supportive, but they are supporting the agenda which I'm delivering."

However, she added that there were other people who had joined their movement who had previously defected to the Liberal Democrats and "anyone who wants a different agenda needs to understand that that's not coming".