Jenrick's stunts spoil Tory plans to 'let Kemi be Kemi'

Robert Jenrick’s attention-grabbing videos have angered other senior Tories as the party desperately tries to raise the profile of their beleaguered leader, Kemi Badenoch.

- KATE DEVLIN DAVID MADDOX

The shadow justice secretary hit the headlines last week thanks to a stunt that saw him chase down and challenge fare dodgers on London trains.

The clip, which follows others on a range of issues including bin collections in Birmingham and the government’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, was watched more than 10 million times.

But the move overshadowed Ms Badenoch’s own video in which she met grooming gang victims, and is far from the first time Jenrick has garnered publicity apparently at the expense of his party leader.

A recent mishap, where hundreds of Westminster insiders were added to a WhatsApp group publicising his London marathon run, led to Badenoch being asked if Jenrick, who ran against her for the leadership of the party, posed a fresh threat to her.

She laughed it off. But party insiders have told The Independent his interventions are leading to tensions with other members of the shadow cabinet.

It comes as the Tories try to raise the profile of Badenoch, as even some of her closest political allies – including shadow chancellor Mel Stride – admit she needs to improve her performance.

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