Tory management race turns nasty as Robert Jenrick warns occasion may DIE below rival Kemi Badenoch after she launches assault on his ‘integrity’

The Tory leadership race turned nasty today as rivals Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch exchanged bitter barbs as the contest enters its final few days.

Conservative members have until 5pm on Thursday to vote on who should replace Rishi Sunak as Leader of the Opposition.

In a furious response to Ms Badenoch’s jibes over his ‘integrity’, Mr Jenrick this morning warned the Tories might have ‘no future’ if she is elected leader.

He hit back at ‘garbage’ attacks on him, adding: ‘If this is the manner in which Kemi would conduct herself as leader of the party, the party has no future.’

Mr Jenrick’s outburst came after Ms Badenoch used a newspaper interview to question his record as a government minister.

Robert Jenrick warned the Tories might have ‘no future’ if his rival Kemi Badenoch is elected party leader

Mr Jenrick expressed his anger after Ms Badenoch used a newspaper interview to question his record as a government minister.

‘Integrity matters… with me you’d have a leader where there’s no scandal,’ Ms Badenoch told the Telegraph.

‘I was never sacked for anything, I didn’t have to resign in disgrace or, you know, because there was a whiff of impropriety.’

The former business secretary’s comments appeared to be a swipe at Mr Jenrick’s past involvement in a planning dispute when he was housing secretary.

In 2020, Mr Jenrick approved an east London redevelopment scheme against the recommendation of a planning inspector.

But he later had to quash his own approval after conceding that the decision was ‘unlawful’ due to ‘apparent bias’.

It emerged that former media mogul Richard Desmond had donated £12,000 to the Tories two weeks after Mr Jenrick stepped in to approve the scheme.

And it was also revealed how Mr Desmond and Mr Jenrick had sat together at a Conservative fundraising dinner two months before the planning decision.

Although former prime minister Boris Johnson stood by Mr Jenrick at the time of the row, he was later sacked as housing secretary in a Cabinet reshuffle in 2021.

In response to Ms Badenoch’s newspaper comments, Mr Jenrick told GB News: ‘I just note that a couple of weeks ago, the Labour-controlled Tower Hamlets council approved the very same scheme all these years later, millions of pounds wasted.

‘I will never be ashamed of trying to get homes built in this country, getting young people onto the housing ladder.’

He added: ‘It is a great shame that Kemi has chosen at this last minute to sully that to trade personal attacks.

‘If Kemi does this to Conservative colleagues, this will be the death of the Conservative Party.

‘I want to end the drama. I want to end these petty disputes, the misinformation. The public are sick to death of this kind of garbage. It needs to end now.

‘With respect, these comments are just pure garbage. This is misinformation. These are petty personal attacks.’

But Ms Badenoch defended her comments when she also appeared on the TV channel this morning.

She said: ‘I’m talking about me. I’m somebody who has conviction.

‘I’m not saying anything new now, just because it’s a leadership contest. I’m somebody who’s been portraying those values for a very long time.

‘I also say that, given the public don’t trust us, you want somebody who hasn’t had any of those sorts of issues.’

Asked about claims from among Mr Jenrick’s supporters that she is the ‘establishment candidate’ for the Tory leadership, Ms Badenoch added: ‘I’m winning support from everybody.

‘Why can’t he win support from everybody? I think that’s the important thing.

‘I’m actually very proud that people who brought us from opposition into government think that I can do it.

‘The people who started in opposition and got into government were Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron.

‘They didn’t do it with a new manifesto. They did it by starting from first principles.

‘That is what I want to do and I think it’s really sad that he’s having to peddle conspiracy theories.’

The new Tory leader will be announced on Saturday.