Robert Jenrick's replacement delivers his verdict on state of the Conservative Party

The Conservatives are stronger than ever after Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform UK, his replacement as Shadow Justice Secretary insisted. Nick Timothy rejected Mr Jenrick’s criticism of other senior Tories, saying the defector’s “characterisation of my Conservative colleagues is completely inaccurate. The public are “sick of the backstabbing” and this week’s dramatic events have united Tory MPs behind party leader Kemi Badenoch, Mr Timothy said.

Mr Jenrick accused Foreign Secretary Dame Priti of creating a migration system “that enabled five million migrants to come here”, when he attacked his former party’s record in office. And he claimed Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride “oversaw the explosion of the welfare bill”. But Tory sources pointed out that Mr Jenrick, who was himself a Cabinet Minister in the last Tory government, previously called Dame Priti “a relentless champion for Conservatism whose experience will be invaluable.”

Mr Jenrick also said that Sir Mel “enacted reforms that made our welfare system fairer and meant we could cut taxes responsibly”.

According to Mr Timothy, events of the past week including a chaotic Reform UK press conference on Thursday illustrated a “lack of seriousness” in other parties - in stark contrast to Mrs Badenoch’s grown-up approach.

And he said the reaction among Conservative MPs was “one of surprise that Rob would do this, but also resolve because the party, I think, is more united under Kemi’s leadership than I’ve known it for many years.”

He added: “Rob’s been a friend of mine for some time. It’s obviously disappointing that he’s decided to move on, but the thing is, what we learned ... is the clear contrast between the Conservatives led by Kemi Badenoch and the other parties and what they offer Britain today.”

Mr Timothy, who previously served as a Home Office adviser in David Cameron’s government, apologised for aspects of the Tory record during the end of the party’s time in power.

“I’ve said as a Conservative I am sorry for the way the party handled certain things in those last few years and I’ve been very open about that since I was elected for the first time 18 months ago,” he said.

“The Conservative Party will not move on and not persuade people to vote for us in the future in the numbers that we need unless we do look them in the eye and say we understand why we lost that election.”