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Sir James Cleverly stated on the BBC's Sunday programme that he would not have used the Gestapo comparison made by Kemi Badenoch against Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. Badenoch has not apologised for the remark. Phillipson called the comment evidence that Badenoch is unfit to be prime minister.
news.sky.comSir James Cleverly said he would not have compared Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to a Gestapo officer. The BBC reported that Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, made the statement while appearing on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.
Kemi Badenoch made the comparison earlier this month in an interview with The Spectator while criticising the government's decision to end a tax exemption for private schools.
Badenoch has not apologised for the remark. Phillipson said the comment showed Badenoch was not fit to be prime minister. Cleverly criticised Labour's education record during the interview. He said Phillipson had pursued an agenda about punishing people who spend their own money to send children to private school rather than raising money or recruiting teachers.
When asked if he would have used the same phraseology, Cleverly replied that it would not have been the language he would use but that Badenoch's explanation could be seen. Badenoch described Phillipson as a spiteful class warrior at Prime Minister's Questions earlier this week.
The Conservatives have accused Labour of targeting families with children at private schools through VAT to fund more state school teachers while overseeing a fall in teacher numbers.
Phillipson has labelled comments by Conservative MP Nick Timothy as racist and called for him to be sacked. Timothy described a Muslim religious gathering in central London in March as an act of domination and denied that the comment amounted to racism.
Cleverly said that when Badenoch highlights what he called vindictive policies amounting to class war she gets vilified by Labour, while Labour faces no similar reaction for describing a Conservative MP as racist.
He added that a robust democracy requires holding each other to account rather than seeking only collegiate and calm exchanges. Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said Badenoch's shadow ministers would not defend the indefensible because they knew the comments were completely appalling and deeply inappropriate.
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