Jenrick vs Badenoch: Clash over 'Hell' Message

On 23 January 2026, former Conservative MP Robert Jenrick, who last week defected to Reform UK, posted a screenshot alleging that Tory chief whip Rebecca Harris had threatened him with a 'special place in hell' after a row over the UK’s foreign aid budget in 2024. Jenrick claimed the messages followed his Mail on Sunday column calling for the aid budget to be halved to increase defence spending. In response, Kemi Badenoch— a former Conservative MP now in the government— accused Jenrick of lying and described him as a 'bloodsucker.' Badenoch said he should leave the party and warned that his views were damaging to the government's credibility. Jenrick counter‑posted the purported texts, claiming the controversy had been misrepresented and urging the public to see the truth. The spat marks the latest public flare‑up in the intra‑party feud triggered by Jenrick’s defection to Reform UK.