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Kemi Badenoch “didn’t flinch” when confronted with evidence that Robert Jenrick was about to defect – and now it is Nigel Farage who must “watch his back”, according to one of the Conservative leader’s closest allies. Alex Burghart, who is at the heart of Tory preparations to oust Labour at the next general election, said her shock dispatch of Mr Jenrick before he could announce he was quitting demonstrated she has what it takes to lead the party. He warned the Reform UK leader that Mr Jenrick is unlikely to want to “carry his bag”. However, Mr Jenrick insisted he had “put personal ambition aside” when he “committed to making Nigel Farage the next prime minister.”

Mr Burghart said: “I think Kemi has acted with great boldness and decisiveness. I think a lot of people will see that she has the hallmarks of being a great leader. It’s always sad to lose a colleague but obviously she received very clear evidence that he was about to betray the party and her and she didn’t flinch. I think that we all know why this has happened.

“It’s because there’s no vacancy at the top of the Conservative party, because Kemi is doing well, and I think that really presents a problem for Nigel Farage – because I don’t think Rob is going to Reform to carry his bag. It will be Nigel Farage who needs to watch his back.”

When asked whether he expected other Conservatives to follow Mr Jenrick to Reform, Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Burghart said: “I very much hope not. There are lots of reasons to be in the Conservative party right now and Kemi is one of them.”

Mr Jenrick defended his decision to quit the Tories and made a direct appeal to Sunday Express readers to join Reform.

He said: “The truth is that Britain has been in decline for decades because of Tory and Labour mismanagement, and we’re now in a crisis. After the election, I thought the Tories might be able to learn the lessons of the party’s failings and change, but too many people are in denial, don’t get it and aren’t sorry.

“That’s why I’ve put personal ambition aside and committed to making Nigel Farage the next Prime Minister.”

Urging others to follow him, he said: “Now is the moment to put party loyalties to one side and unite behind the one party that can deliver real change. That’s Reform, led by Nigel Farage, who has been consistently right on the big issues for decades – even when it was unfashionable.

“Reform is building the team that will finally deliver the change that Sunday Express readers have been crying out for. I urge them to join our growing movement.”

However, former Defence Secretary and ex-Conservative party chairman Sir Grant Shapps, cautioned: “Political parties are bigger than any one ego. The Conservatives have survived for over 250 years because we are broader and deeper than any single personality.

“By contrast, the party Robert Jenrick has joined revolves around one individual, a model British politics has rarely seen endure. Renewal doesn’t come from shock defections or headlines.

“It comes from serious leadership, credible ideas, and investing in the next generation of MPs.”

He said “that work is already under way and it matters far more than the drama” of Mr Jenrick’s defection.