British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has condemned a remark describing her as a “Nigerian scammer”, accusing political figures linked to Reform UK of using her Nigerian heritage to attack her.
Badenoch made her position known during an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday, October 29, 2026, following comments by Raheem Kassam, a former senior aide to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
Kassam had described Badenoch as an “unrelenting scammer” and questioned why people continued to support her, adding a reference to her Nigerian background.
In a separate post, he wrote: “How are people still falling for this Nigerian scammer? Don’t give her your credit card number and bank account details!”
Reacting to the comments, Badenoch described them as racist and accused those making such remarks of attempting to turn her background into a political weapon.
She said she believed the references to her race were intended to improve the political standing of those attacking her.
“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,” she said.
Badenoch also criticised Reform UK politicians for concentrating on attacking her instead of discussing policies that could improve the lives of British citizens.
The controversy also drew attention to Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman, after he declined to describe Kassam’s remarks as racist.
During an ITV interview, Jenrick said he did not consider the comments racist, although he acknowledged that they could be unpleasant or rude.
He argued that he was not responsible for policing every social media post made by people who might support Reform UK.
“It’s not my place to police everybody’s tweets who may or may not be a supporter of Reform,” he said.
Jenrick also referred to a separate controversy involving Badenoch’s claim that she received an offer from Stanford University at the age of 16 to study a pre-medical course.
Badenoch has maintained that she received the offer but said she no longer has the relevant documents. The claim had previously attracted questions following a report by The Guardian.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was also questioned about Kassam’s remarks during an interview on BBC Breakfast.
Farage rejected the suggestion that the comments were deliberately racist, arguing that referring to someone’s upbringing in Nigeria did not automatically make a remark racist.
However, he acknowledged that the wording was excessive, describing the comments as “over the top”.
The Labour Party also criticised Jenrick for refusing to condemn the remarks, saying that calling out racism should not depend on political affiliation.
Badenoch, who was born in London and spent part of her childhood in Nigeria, became Conservative Party leader in November 2024.
The controversy comes amid growing political competition between the Conservatives and Reform UK, with both parties seeking support from voters ahead of future elections.
The exchange has brought renewed attention to the use of race and national identity in Britain’s political debate, particularly when criticism of political leaders becomes linked to their ethnic or family backgrounds.
Badenoch has maintained that her Nigerian heritage should not be used to discredit her, while Reform figures have defended or played down the remarks made against her.