Kemi Badenoch, leader of the British Conservative Party, has hit back at a former aide to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage over derogatory comments about her Nigerian background, describing the remarks as racist attacks designed to advance political interests.
Badenoch said attempts by politicians associated with Reform UK to exploit her race as a weapon against her would not succeed, insisting that Britain was not a racist country.
She made the remarks on Thursday during an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, following a series of social media posts by Raheem Kassam, a former senior aide to Farage.
Kassam, who previously served as editor-in-chief of Breitbart News, had called Badenoch an “unrelenting scammer”.
In another post, he asked how people could continue to trust the Conservative leader, describing her as a “Nigerian scammer” and warning people against giving her their credit card and bank account details.
Reacting to the comments, Badenoch suggested that the remarks were part of an attempt to undermine her political position by playing on her Nigerian heritage.
“I think it just shows the sort of people they are,” she said.
“I think they think that maybe using my race is a way for them to improve their standing.
“Britain is not a racist country, and because it’s not a racist country, their racist attacks and using my race as an attack form is not going to work,” she added.
The controversy has also exposed differences in how senior Reform UK figures have responded to the remarks.
Robert Jenrick, the party’s Treasury spokesman, declined to condemn Kassam’s comments when questioned during an ITV interview.
Jenrick said he did not consider the remarks racist, although he admitted they could be interpreted as unpleasant or rude.
“It’s not my place to police everybody’s tweets who may or may not be a supporter of Reform,” he said.
Farage had also been questioned about the controversy during an appearance on BBC Breakfast earlier in the week.
The Reform UK leader defended the distinction between referring to someone's Nigerian upbringing and making a racist statement.
“I don’t think saying somebody grew up in Nigeria is racist,” he said.
However, when pressed on Kassam’s choice of words, Farage conceded that the comments were excessive but insisted they were not deliberately racist.
“Do I think the comment was over the top? Yes, I do. Do I think it was intentionally racist? No, I don’t,” he said.
The dispute comes amid growing political competition between the Conservatives and Reform UK, with Badenoch's response highlighting concerns over the use of racial identity and personal background in Britain's increasingly heated political discourse.
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