Some 'can't cope' with idea of a black Tory leader, says Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch has spoken about the racism she has suffered as the first black woman to lead the Conservative party.

- Kiran Stacey

The Tory leader told the Sunday Times she had been surprised by the amount of racism she had faced since being elected, having previously insisted that Britain was "the best place in the world to be black".

She told the paper: "There's a certain cadre of people who clearly can't cope with the fact that I won this and I'm doing it. The level of personal attacks from anonymous people, it's hysterical. Not even just from MPs. I actually don't think it's that many MPs. I think it's two to three people out of 120. That's nothing."

"But online as well. People used to talk about Trump derangement syndrome. I think there's a Kemi derangement syndrome: 'How could she possibly have done this?'"