Nigel Farage began his second news conference of the day alongside Suella Braverman by declaring: “The centre right is finally uniting.” Really?
Mr Farage‘s introduction was then followed by 25 minutes of his latest Tory defector trashing her old party in the most vitriolic attack of any of Reform UK‘s new recruits.
The defections of Nadhim Zahawi, Robert Jenrick, Andrew Rosindell and now Ms Braverman have been greeted by their old party with more bile than any previous defections.
The Tories even reacted to the former home secretary’s walkout by claiming: “The Conservatives did all we could to look after Suella’s mental health, but she was clearly very unhappy.”
Mental health? Below the belt, surely?
Some senior Conservatives were appalled and a few hours later the party issued a “correction” with the offending – and offensive – sentence removed.
In his opening remarks, Mr Farage called the mental health slur “pretty abusive”, claiming: “We won’t lower ourselves to their level.”
Ms Braverman’s tirade against her old party may not have been below the belt. But it was pretty near the knuckle.
She used the word “betrayal” several times.
Suella Braverman followed Robert Jenrick in defecting to Reform UK. Pic: Reuters
On the refusal to ban “hate marches”, she said: “The Conservative Party should be disgusted with itself, frankly.”
She went on: “I was vilified and called Islamophobic by my own Conservative Party colleagues. Another great betrayal.”
She attacked Kemi Badenoch personally.
“The leader herself said I was having a nervous breakdown, something she seems…
