The leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has condemned what she described as “racist attacks” against her, insisting they would “not going to work” after Raheem Kassam, a former aide to Nigel Farage, labelled her a “Nigerian scammer”.
Badenoch made the remarks during an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday, following a series of social media posts by Kassam criticising her.
Kassam had described Badenoch as an “unrelenting scammer”, accusing her of using her Nigerian background to advance her career whenever it suited her.
In another post, he questioned how people could still fall for “this Nigerian scammer?”
“Don’t give her your credit card number and bank account details,” he added.
Earlier in the week, Farage, leader of Reform UK, was asked about his former aide’s remarks during an interview with the BBC.
When questioned about whether he considered the comments racist, Farage pointed out that Kassam was of Indian heritage.
He also argued that describing Badenoch as a “Nigerian scammer” did not necessarily mean the two words were connected.
“It’s pretty clear that Kemi Badenoch often does not tell the truth about things that have happened and tries her very best to reinvent her past,” Farage said.
“The word scammer is about someone who doesn’t always tell the truth. There are quite a few instances over the last couple of months of her not telling the truth.
“There are two different words. One is scammer, and the other is Nigerian. He’s of Indian heritage. Ask him how he describes himself. Kemi Badenoch calls herself British; she grew up in Nigeria. By the way, this is not a debate I’m getting involved in.”
Farage described Kassam’s remarks as “over the top” but said he did not believe they were deliberately racist.
Badenoch responds to remarks
Responding to the comments during her ITV appearance, Badenoch dismissed the attacks and questioned the conduct of those making them.
“I think it just shows the sort of people they are,” she said.
“I keep telling people that Reform politicians are not like Conservative politicians, and I want the Reform voters who were Conservatives to come home.
“This is what they’re spending their time on. They’re not talking about how they’re going to make people’s lives better. They’re spending most of their time attacking me. You’d think that I was the prime minister.
“I think they think that maybe using my race is a way for them to improve their standing.
“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, who was born in London and spent part of her childhood in Nigeria, has led the Conservative Party since November 2024.