By Emmanuella Opara | October 30th, 2026
KEY POINTS
- UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has condemned social media attacks referencing her Nigerian background as racist.
- The comments were made by Raheem Kassam, a former senior aide to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
- Reform UK Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick declined to describe the remarks as racist, while Farage called them excessive but said they were not intentionally racist.
- The controversy comes amid competition between the Conservatives and Reform UK for voters.
MAIN STORY
British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has accused politicians associated with Reform UK of using her Nigerian background to attack her, describing recent remarks against her as racist.
Badenoch made the comments during an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday, following a series of social media posts by Raheem Kassam, a former senior aide to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
Kassam, who previously served as editor-in-chief of Breitbart News, described Badenoch as an “unrelenting scammer” and accused her of using her Nigerian background to advance her political career.
In another post, he wrote: “How are people still falling for this Nigerian scammer? Don’t give her your credit card number and bank account details!”
Responding to the remarks, Badenoch said the attacks reflected the character of those making them. She also accused Reform politicians of focusing more on personal attacks against her than on presenting policies to improve people’s lives.
She argued that references to her race were being used as a political strategy to improve Reform UK’s standing but said the approach would not succeed.
The controversy also drew attention to the response of Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman, who declined to condemn Kassam’s comments.
During an ITV interview, Jenrick said he did not consider the remarks racist, although he described them as potentially unpleasant or rude. He added that he did not see it as his responsibility to monitor every social media post by people who might support Reform UK.
Jenrick also referred to an earlier dispute over Badenoch’s account that she received an offer from Stanford University at the age of 16 for a pre-medical course. Badenoch has maintained that the offer was made but said she no longer had the documents relating to it.
Farage similarly rejected suggestions that Kassam’s comments were racist. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he argued that referring to someone having grown up in Nigeria was not racist.
He later acknowledged that the remarks were “over the top” but said he did not believe they were deliberately racist.
The response from Reform UK officials attracted criticism from the Labour Party. A spokesman for the party said condemning racism was not a matter of political allegiance but “basic decency”.
The dispute comes amid political competition between Badenoch’s Conservatives and Reform UK, which has been seeking support from voters who previously backed the Conservative Party.
Badenoch, who was born in London and grew up partly in Nigeria, has led the Conservative Party since November 2024.
THE ISSUES
The controversy highlights the role of race and personal identity in Britain’s political debate, particularly as parties compete for public support.
Badenoch’s criticism centres on the use of her Nigerian background in remarks portraying her as dishonest. Her response also raises a distinction between political criticism and attacks that draw on a person’s ethnic or national background.
The reactions from Farage and Jenrick have further widened the debate, with both declining to characterise Kassam’s comments as racist, although Farage described them as excessive.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“How are people still falling for this Nigerian scammer? Don’t give her your credit card number and bank account details!” Raheem Kassam, former senior aide to Nigel Farage, wrote on social media.
“I think it just shows the sort of people they are,” Kemi Badenoch, UK Conservative Party leader, said.
“I think they think that maybe using my race is a way for them to improve their standing,” Badenoch said.
“Britain is not a racist country, and because it’s not a racist country, their racist attacks and using my race as an attack form is not going to work,” Badenoch said.
“It’s not my place to police everybody’s tweets who may or may not be a supporter of Reform,” Robert Jenrick, Reform UK Treasury spokesman, said.
WHAT’S NEXT
The disagreement is likely to remain part of the political exchanges between the Conservatives and Reform UK as both parties seek to strengthen their support ahead of future electoral contests. The source, however, does not report any formal action against Kassam over the comments.
BOTTOM LINE
Badenoch has accused Reform UK figures of using her Nigerian heritage to undermine her politically, while Farage and Jenrick have declined to describe the remarks as racist. The dispute has brought renewed attention to how race and identity feature in Britain’s increasingly competitive political landscape.
