United Kingdom Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has condemned what she described as racist attacks against her after former adviser to Nigel Farage, Raheem Kassam, referred to her as a “Nigerian scammer” in social media posts.
Badenoch made her position known during an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, saying the remarks reflected an attempt to use her Nigerian heritage against her politically.
She argued that references to her race would not succeed in undermining her political standing, insisting that Britain was not a racist country.
Kassam had accused Badenoch of using her Nigerian background to advance her political career and warned social media users against giving her their financial details.
The controversy also drew attention to comments by Reform UK figures. Robert Jenrick declined to describe Kassam’s remarks as racist, although he acknowledged that they could be unpleasant or rude.
Reform leader Nigel Farage also described the comment as excessive but said he did not believe it was intentionally racist.
However, further developments emerged after reports that Farage privately rebuked Kassam over the remark. Kassam reportedly accepted that his wording could have been better, while maintaining that he intended it as a joke.
The dispute has renewed debate about race, national identity and the responsibility of political figures to address offensive language in public political discourse.
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