Kemi Badenoch said Kevin Hollinrake’s response to a Reform UK emblem was intended as a joke.

Kemi Badenoch has defended Tory party chairman Kevin Hollinrake amid a backlash after he appeared to compare Reform UK to the Nazis.

Mr Hollinrake posted a link to a Wikipedia entry about a badge handed out to members of Adolf Hitler’s party in response to a social media post from Nigel Farage showing a Reform emblem.

Tory former home secretary Suella Braverman said the comparison was “wrong, irresponsible and highly counter-productive”.

And Reform’s policy chief Zia Yusuf said: “This will be on leaflets and ad vans to the point of saturation, so every single one of their constituents knows: the Tories think that if you support Reform, you’re a Nazi.”

But Mrs Badenoch brushed off the row.

She

See Full Page