Robert Jenrick’s planned defection was uncovered after he reportedly left his resignation speech “lying around.”
On Tuesday morning, Kemi Badenoch announced she had sacked Jenrick from the shadow cabinet after she was “presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect.”
The Tory leader said Jenrick had been planning to defect “in a way designed to be as damaging as possible to his Shadow Cabinet colleagues and the wider Conservative Party.”
Jenrick also had the whip removed and his party membership was suspended “with immediate effect.”
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Badenoch added: “The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I. They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in THIS government.
“I will not repeat those mistakes.”
Now, the Times reports that Badenoch’s team uncovered Jenrick’s secret defection plot because he left his resignation speech “lying around.”
According to the publication, the document was a “near-final text” and that the Tories believed Jenrick was going to announce his defection imminently.
A Tory source told the BBC “material” had been left “lying around” which provided “irrefutable evidence” he was preparing to defect.
It’s widely believed Jenrick was going to defect to Reform.
Speaking at a press conference when the news broke, Nigel Farage confirmed he had had conversations with Jenrick about him joining Reform.
However, he said Jenrick had not signed a deal with Reform and that he was not going to unveil the Tory MP at a second press event on Thursday afternoon.
Farage did say he would ring Jenrick and “might even buy him a pint.”