Controversial ex-Tory MP defects to Reform with brutal Kemi Badenoch swipe
A controversial ex Tory MP has defected to Reform after taking a swipe at Kemi Badenoch.
Adam Holloway, who defended Boris Johnson over Partygate and spoke up for two Conservative colleagues later convicted of sex offences, is Nigel Farage's latest recruit. Mr Holloway was one of just seven MPs who tried to vote down a report saying Mr Johnson had misled the Commons.
He also gave character references for Charlie Elphicke and Imran Ahmad Khan during their trials for sex offences - and was later rapped for trying to influence legal proceedings. It comes after Nigel Farage last week unveiled an ex-Tory who made racist remark on WhatsApp as its newest defector.
On the eve of the general election he pleaded with voters not to back Reform, but went on to lose his Gravesham seat in Kent.
He said yesterday(WED): "There comes a moment for many soldiers - and most politicians - when you realise the battle you think you're fighting isn't the one your leaders are waging.
"That moment came for me watching Kemi Badenoch tell Trevor Phillips there are real differences between Reform UK and the Conservatives. She was right.
"The difference is the Reform leadership and voters grasp the scale of our national peril and back a party serious about addressing it."
Mr Holloway was found to have breached the MPs' code of conduct in 2021 after Elphicke was jailed for two years for sexual assault. He and four other MPs tried to prevent the release of a character reference he had provided.
Mr Holloway is at least the eighth former Tory MP to have joined Reform since the last election - following former party chairman Sir Jake Berry, former Wales secretary David Jones and Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
Mr Farage said he was "delighted" to welcome Mr Holloway to the party, saying the ex-Army officer's parliamentary and military experience would be "vital".
He added: "His bold move shows that we are the only serious option in Kent and is testament to the fantastic work our councillors are delivering across the region."
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The election result was even worse for him than had been expected. The murmurings of discontent are growing louder. One senior Labour source said that 'you can't out-Reform Reform' by going tough on issues such as immigration — it doesn't wash with voters. The other fear is that giving Farage a platform and painting the idea that he could become prime minister risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy — that he might just do it.
