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Robert Jenrick has drawn criticism for his own colleagues for doubling down on a claim that UK special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists”.
The frontrunner to replace Rishi Sunak defended his assertion that the military is taking lethal action because of fears that European laws would free any detained assailants as “absolutely correct”.
Asked on Tuesday whether he could back up the claim, he insisted he could not “elaborate on particular cases.
Leadership rival Tom Tugendhat said he was “extremely concerned” at Mr Jenrick’s remarks.
Former foreign secretary and fellow contender James Cleverly urged him to justify his statement.
“The British military always abide by international humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict,” he said.
“We have, I was about to say some of the most… no, we have the most professional military in the world. Our military do not murder people.”
Former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve described the clip as “one of the most astonishing videos I have ever seen posted by a Conservative MP, let alone a candidate for the leadership”.
The Independent’s political team will be reporting live throughout the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.
China could help prop up UK TV by buying Peppa Pig now the licence fee is ‘unsustainable’, Cleverly says
China could help prop up UK TV by buying Peppa Pig and other content now the licence fee is “unsustainable”, James Cleverly has suggested.
On the future of the TV Licence, Mr Cleverly said: “I had a delegation from the BBC come along to me and say, when I was a new MP, and they did the usual thing: ‘Oh, because of the unique way the BBC is funded ya-ya-ya.’
“And I said to them, and I said to them at the time, this was back in 2015, I said ‘if I were you, at the next renegotiation of the licence fee, I would start your planning to become a subscription service.
“‘You have a back catalogue of some of the best television in the world’. If Disney and Netflix can make money on the subscription model, the BBC should, because the bottom line is, in the era of streaming services, the tax to watch television is an unsustainable business model.
“And that back catalogue of content that we have already paid for, why don’t we make sure that when China obsesses about Peppa Pig – apparently Peppa Pig is very popular in China – and other content, that they pay for it rather than demanding that we pay for it all over again?”
Cleverly suggests Jenrick needs to ‘justify his words’ over special forces claim
James Cleverly has suggested leadership rival Robert Jenrick should “justify his words” after claiming that British special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists”.
Asked about the remarks, which were made by the former immigration minister in a campaign video, Mr Cleverly said: “Look, whoever said that needs to justify their words.
“I’ve never accused the British armed forces of murdering anybody and if you’re going to make that accusation you need to back it up.”
Cleverly claims dozens of migrants could have been sent to Rwanda if election was delayed
Conservative Party leadership contender James Cleverly said “dozens” could have been sent to Rwanda under Rishi Sunak’s plans for asylum seekers and illegal migrants, if the election had been delayed.
Speaking on the main stage of the Conservative Party conference, Mr Cleverly said if the election had not taken place earlier this year – with the incoming Labour Government scrapping the policy – more people would have gone to the East African country.
He said: “I reckon at this point we could have sent dozens of people to Rwanda.
“It’s not just about the people that you sent to Rwanda, because ideally you don’t want to be receiving people in the UK and sending them to Rwanda, you want people to stop coming to the UK.”
He compared the plan to the success of the agreement with Albania, which saw illegal arrivals from the country drop by 90%.
Mr Cleverly said: “The deal that we had with Albania… we didn’t need to send very many Albanians back to Albania before the message cut through ‘Don’t waste your time and money trying to get to the UK, because all they do is kick you out again’. That’s what would have happened once we got Rwanda up and running.”
Jenrick says he doesn’t supported creating a definition of Islamophobia
Leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick told the Tory party conference that he does not support creating a definition of Islamophobia, because there was “not a satisfactory way to do that, that maintained freedom of speech in our country”.
He added: “I think if you shout Allahu Akbar in an intimidating manner, of course context is everything, clearly not if one is doing it as millions of British Muslims and Muslims all over the world do in a peaceful manner, every day, a prayerful manner.
“But if you shout it in an intimidatory manner, then it’s right that action is taken, and that is what the law says. The law gives the police the ability to take action.
“Now, whether it’s that or scenes like we saw over the course of the last year, someone shouting ‘jihad’ off Oxford Street and the police putting out a tweet saying that it was perfectly okay.
“Someone projecting a genocidal chant onto Big Ben, and nothing really happening. People praising the Houthis on the streets of London when they were firing missiles at British flagged vessels. That is wrong, that is wrong, that is not the country I want to live in.”
Watch: Robert Jenrick admits his daughter’s middle name is ‘Thatcher’
Analysis: Robert Jenrick is the GB News candidate
If anyone wonders why Robert Jenrick looks so relaxed on the conference stage being grilled over what he believes it could be down to who is leading the event.
GB News’s political editor Christopher Hope (aka Chopper) is putting the questions to each of the leadership candidates in extended sessions.
Yesterday Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch took their turns, today Mr Jenrick and James Cleverly.
It was supposed to be Camilla Tominey (also of GB News and the Daily Telegraph) putting the questions as well but one of the candidates objected to her at the last minute.
Nevertheless Mr Jenrick may well be feeling at home with a GB News interrogator. He was the only candidate to turn up to the GB News party and could be seen dancing to popular numbers late at night.
More than that though, Jenrick also gave a speech at the event where he not only pledged his support for GB News but announced that “the Conservative Party under my leadership – if I am lucky enough to win – will have nothing to do with companies that refuse to advertise on GB News.”
A bold statement linked to the successful Hope Not Hate campaign which has led many companies to refuse to advertise on the rightwing broadcaster famed for being a platform for Nigel Farage.
Robert Jenrick is “sorely tempted” to scrap the TV Licence fee
After a series of policy questions and asked about TV licensing, he said: “Well I’m sorely tempted to say that I would scrap it but look, I have three young daughters. They watch so little terrestrial TV. They’re on YouTube on their tablets, their iPads. I think it’s difficult to see the long-term future for the licence fee, but you know, that’s a question we’ll have to give a lot of thought to.”
Asked whether he would “restore the winter fuel payment to pensioners”, the Conservative Party leadership hopeful replied: “Yes.”
If Labour rids the Lords of hereditary peers, Mr Jenrick said he would “probably not” reverse the move.
He said: “Well I like hereditary peers but probably not. I think that isn’t quite our new, modern Conservative Party but I feel sad when traditions get lost like that.”
On ending “Labour’s ban on grammar schools”, Mr Jenrick said: “Absolutely. I went to Wolverhampton Grammar School. My constituents go to grammar schools. I want to expand grammar schools. I want to create new grammar schools. I created a free school in my constituency which would have been a grammar school if we’d been allowed to do it.”
Jenrick says he would ‘absolutely’ reverse VAT on private schools
Robert Jenrick has said he “would absolutely” reverse Labour’s introduction of VAT on private schools if he were to become prime minister.
Speaking about his own experience of being sent to private school, the Tory leadership contender said we “should never bow to the politics of envy”.
Mr Jenrick said: “I grew up to two people from a working-class background. Money was quite tight in our household – my mum and dad had quit their jobs and set up a small business and it didn’t prosper initially.
“I went to a state primary school and my grandad died. And my grandmother, who was not a wealthy person herself, decided – instead of going on a cruise or doing anything else you might do with some money – to spend that money putting my sister and I through private school.
“To me, that is an innately conservative story and we should never bow to the politics of envy. We should respect people who make decisions like that.”
Jenrick says he would like to cut the top rate of tax
Asked whether he would cut the top rates of tax, Robert Jenrick has suggested he would do so, stating: “I would like to do that.”
The Tory leadership hopeful went on to say: “I don’t think it would be sensible for me to make up our fiscal policy right now, because actually one of the big tasks for me, or whoever leads this party beginning in November, is to restore our economic credibility.”
Later in the session, Mr Jenrick said the Tory party should be “obsessed” with reforming the NHS.
He said: “So our party needs to be obsessed with how we can reform the NHS. Don’t treat it like a religion to be worshipped. Treat it like a public service to be reformed.”
Later asked whether voting Remain at the Brexit referendum was a mistake, he replied: “I wouldn’t do it again with hindsight.”
On whether Nigel Farage should join the Tory party, he said: “I don’t think the party could afford the bar bill if we invited Nigel Farage back in. On a serious note, my view of Reform is this, I think it’s a symptom, not a cause. It exists in its current state because we failed.”
Jenrick says he would reinstate Rwanda plan if in government
On leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, Robert Jenrick said without it he is “certain we would have got flights off to Rwanda”.
He said: “I cannot predict what that would have meant for the general election, but I think I can confidently say it would have been a hell of a lot better than it was.”
On the Rwanda deportations plan, Mr Jenrick said he would reinstate it if he led a future government. He said: “Look, I would do because I believe you have to have a deterrent.”
The Conservative Party leadership hopeful claimed diplomacy and using the National Crime Agency “isn’t enough”, and he added: “You have to inject a deterrent into the system but there is one further thing you’ve got to do if you care about securing our borders and that is you do have to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.”
Mr Jenrick continued: “We made big promises and didn’t keep them and if we are lucky enough to get back into government in the future, I never want to let down the British public again. If we are given a second chance, we won’t be given a third chance.
“So a party like ours has to stand for ending illegal migration and the only way to do that is to get rid of this arsenal of laws that are used by illegal migrants to frustrate their removal from our country.”
