James Cleverly Distances Himself From Badenoch's Gestapo Remark as VAT Row Over Private Schools Deepens
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 28
James Cleverly Distances Himself From Badenoch's Gestapo Remark as VAT Row Over Private Schools Deepens
2 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 28
Summary
James Cleverly said on the BBC he would not have compared Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to a Gestapo officer, breaking with Kemi Badenoch's language while stopping short of directly condemning her.
The dispute stems from Labour's move to end a tax exemption for private schools by applying VAT to fees, a policy Conservatives say punishes families rather than funding more state-school teachers.
Badenoch has not apologized for the remark and earlier this week also called Phillipson a "spiteful class warrior," prompting Phillipson to say the Tory leader was "not fit to be prime minister."
Cleverly defended the broader attack on Labour's education policy and argued robust language is part of democratic accountability, while Labour chair Anna Turley said Tory shadow ministers would not defend comments they knew were appalling.