Boris Johnson's pal and ex-minister ditches Tories to join Nigel Farage as shock clip unearthed

The ex-Conservative curate Andrea Jenkyns, who was fixed a Damehood by Boris Johnson, volition tally to beryllium Reform UK's campaigner for the newly-created politician of Lincolnshire

Boris Johnson's pal and erstwhile Tory MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns has joined Nigel Farage's Reform UK - contempt insisting she wasn't going to defect to the enactment successful an unearthed clip.

The ex-Conservative minister, who was fixed a Damehood by Mr Johnson, volition tally to beryllium Reform UK's campaigner for the newly-created politician of Lincolnshire successful May adjacent year. Speaking astatine a Reform UK property league connected Thursday, she said she "always respected" Mr Farage and noted her enactment with Reform UK MP Richard Tice during Brexit. It is contempt her posted a clip connected societal media conscionable 2 months agone connected her mode to Reform UK's league insisting she wasn't going to defect to the party.

Dame Andrea, who mislaid her spot arsenic an MP successful July, sparked choler during the predetermination this summertime erstwhile her run leaflets featured 2 pictures of her grinning alongside Mr Farage and zero images of her with Rishi Sunak. Asked however agelong she had been reasoning astir defecting, fixed her Tory run leaflets, she said: “I ever similar to propulsion the boundaries and beryllium a spot cheeky.”

She added that she is "politically aligned" with Reform UK. "How agelong person I been reasoning astir it? Well, I mean, I was tempted earlier the general election, but I americium a loyal idiosyncratic to a party... I believed, arsenic I said, successful going down with that vessel fighting. I was elected arsenic a Conservative, and I got knocked retired arsenic a Conservative, but I feel, unfortunately, the enactment has go tired."

In September Dame Andrea posted a video connected Twitter/X insisting she wasn't going to articulation Reform UK. Speaking extracurricular the party's conference, she said: "I'm a erstwhile Tory MP and I'm not defecting... I'm really keen to find retired what it's each about. Is this the existent location of Conservatism and wherefore person we mislaid truthful galore members to the Reform party?"

About a week aboriginal she gushed astir however "amazing" the vigor was astatine Reform UK's league - portion she was herself sitting connected a sheet astatine the Tory enactment conference. The erstwhile Tory said she snuck into Reform UK's lawsuit after getting "hold of a property pass" and seemingly entering nether the guise of a journalist.

The Tory fig was a adjacent state of Mr Johnson and successful summertime 2022 she was captured sticking her mediate digit up astatine 'Bye Boris' crowds extracurricular Downing Street sparking fury. Dame Andrea, who was the MP for Morley and Outwood, besides served arsenic a curate nether Liz Truss.

After her defection to Reform UK, Labour staffer Jennifer-Anne Scott posted connected societal media: "A curate successful Liz Truss' disastrous authorities who gave the mediate digit to the public. Lincolnshire deserves overmuch amended than this..."