Kemi Badenoch reveals ‘hysterical’ level of personal attacks faced as a black woman

The Tory leader told the Sunday Times she had been surprised at the amount of racism she had faced since being elected, having previously insisted that Britain was “the best place in the world to be black”

Badenoch, who was born in Wimbledon but grew up in Nigeria before moving back to the UK aged 16, rarely talks at length about her race or heritage. She said recently she no longer felt Nigerian and has frequently criticised anti-racism campaigners and critical race theory.

She told the Sunday Times: “I always try to think of every possible explanation before I go to race and racism. I think that is a healthy way to run a society. I remember when I stood up a few years ago and said Britain is not a racist country – ethnic minorities do very well here, it is white working-class boys who are actually struggling on a lot of metrics, and I got pilloried for that.