Nigel Farage has predicted Reform UK will “boom” after footage resurfaced showing Kemi Badenoch hailing the liberalisation of legal migration rules.
The Clacton MP, who is keeping a close eye on the race to replace Rishi Sunak, said: “If Kemi becomes leader Reform will boom.”
Badenoch is the frontrunner to win the Tory leadership race, with the Saffron Walden MP opening up leads in a number of grassroots opinion polls.
However, the former Business Secretary’s critics suggest she might have shot herself in the foot over the unearthed footage.
“Either she misled the Commons in 2018 or Kemi is misleading the public now with any claim she would reduce migration numbers,” a Tory source told The Sun.
Addressing MPs in 2018, Badenoch “welcomed” the scrapping of the cap on visas for skilled workers and students, claiming: “I lobbied for both on behalf of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Anglia Ruskin University, which serve my constituency.”
Former Tory MP Rachel MacLean, who lost her seat after Britons went to the polls on July 4, leapt to Badenoch’s defence last night.
She said: “It is shameful that this 2018 clip is being used to attack Kemi - the leadership candidate who has never been in the Home Office and responsible for controlling our borders.
“Every Conservative MP stood in 2019 on a platform of a points-based system, exactly what Kemi is advocating.
“As leader, Kemi will ensure that when we say we’ll bring the numbers down, we will.”
The revelation does not make Badenoch the first Tory leadership contender to back-peddle on previous policy positions.
GB News exclusively revealed Tory concerns about Tom Tugendhat’s ECHR pivot.
Tugendhat, who will use a speech today to plea for an “end to the inconsistent application of the law” amid a spate of riots, recently voiced support for withdrawing from the Strasbourg court.
However, the ex-Security Minister unequivocally opposed severing ties with the ECHR while campaigning for leader in 2022.
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Starmer directly warns Iran against attacking Israel
Sir Keir Starmer has directly warned Iran against attacking Israel.
In a rare phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian last night, the Prime Minister claimed there was a "serious risk of miscalculation".
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister said that he was deeply concerned by the situation in the region and called on all parties to de-escalate and avoid further regional confrontation.
“There was a serious risk of miscalculation and now was the time for calm and careful consideration, the Prime Minister said.
“He called on Iran to refrain from attacking Israel, adding that war was not in anyone’s interests.
“The Prime Minister underlined his commitment to an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza.
"He added the focus should be on diplomatic negotiations, to achieve those outcomes.”
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