"Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, revealed live on the BBC's local election programme that she had not spoken to Robert Jenrick since he defected to Reform in January. Atkins, who said in 2024 that she believed Jenrick was the leadership candidate who had a really interesting story to tell to younger voters, appeared so angry in the encounter that she could not look him in the eye. Rob has not spoken to me since he left the Conservative party in the way that he did, she said. And I considered us to be very good friends. And so it has been a great personal loss for me, as well as a professional one."
"Atkins suggested Jenrick's behaviour meant he and Reform UK could not be trusted. She added: How one conducts oneself is important. This is a message that will continue until the general election, that if people are asking the voters for trust, then that has to be genuine. Jenrick tried to move the discussion away from his personal conduct to the Conservatives' record in government. He said: The Conservative party is not trusted because it didn't do what it said it was going to do."
"The Conservative party broke the most fundamental trust with the British public, because it said it was going to secure our borders. It did the opposite. It was open season. Atkins interrupted Jenrick by saying: You were immigration minister, and, looking skyward, added: Immigration rose to its highest levels. Jenrick responded: I resigned because I was so appalled by what I'd seen."
"Later, Jenrick was asked to respond to the personal accusation that he not spoken to his old friend for four months. He said: I don't personalise things. That is not the way I conduct myself. Since his defection, the relationship between Jenrick and his former party has been unusua"
An MP accused Robert Jenrick of abandoning their friendship after he defected from the Conservative party to Reform in January. Victoria Atkins said she had not spoken to him since his departure and described the personal loss alongside the professional one. She argued that his conduct meant he and Reform UK could not be trusted, emphasizing that trust must be genuine. Jenrick attempted to shift focus to the Conservative party’s record in government, claiming it broke fundamental trust by failing to secure borders. Atkins challenged him by noting his role as immigration minister and stating immigration rose to its highest levels. Jenrick replied that he resigned after being appalled by what he saw and denied personalizing the exchange.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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