UK politics live: Kemi Badenoch insists she believes in maternity pay as Tory rivals jump on ‘excessive’ claim

Kemi Badenoch’s campaign team has claimed that rivals are using “selective quotes” to undermine the Tory leadership hopeful’s position in the Conservative leadership contest.

A spokesperson close to the shadow secretary said: “We need to be better, we need our politics to be better. Kemi obviously supports maternity pay and was making a case for lower regulation – something she always aimed for as business secretary.

“For other leadership campaigns to be seeking to use selective quotes from an interview to score political hits, shows they’re still wedded to the old politics and simply aren’t serious about getting back to government.”

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak will deliver a speech at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham today at 5.20pm.

This marks the party leader first major address to the party since the bruising general election loss in July.

His speech is expected to reflect on the challenges the Conservatives face in rebuilding after the defeat, while also addressing the future direction of the party.

The speech is part of a drinks reception with party members, but The Independent’s political team will bring you the latest updates from the conference.

Fellow Conservative leadership contenders have distanced themselves from Kemi badenoch’s controversial comments about maternity pay.

Both Tom Tugendhat and Robert Jenrick emphasised the importance of supporting working women.

At an event with the Conservative Women’s Organisation, Mr Tugendhat claimed that while he wasn’t aware of the full context of Ms Badenoch’s remarks, he stressed the importance of women having the freedom to choose.

“It’s not for me to tell you whether you should go to work or stay at home or which job to do or how many kids to have, that’s none of my business,” he said. “What’s my business as a politician is to make sure that you have the support for choice.”

Robert Jenrick directly challenged Ms Badenoch’s stance, stating that the Conservative Party should be “firmly on the side of parents and working mums.”

Speaking at a fringe event, Mr Jenrick said that the UK has a low maternity pay compared to other OECD nations, adding: “I think the Conservative Party should be firmly in the side of parents and working mums who are trying to get on.”

Unions have hit back at Conservative leadership contender Kemi Badenoch after she branded UK maternity pay “excessive” claiming it has “gone too far”.

In a sharp response, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak criticised Ms Badenoch and accused the Tories of being disconnected from the realities facing working families.

The union boss said: “The Conservative Party leadership candidates are hopelessly out of touch and seem to be competing with one another to be the most unkind and nasty.

“Maternity pay in the UK is lower than in many other economies - forcing too many mums back from leave early.

“The Tories don’t appear to have any solutions for this country. All they have left is performative cruelty and division.”

Rishi Sunak has said the Conservatives should “learn the lessons” of their general election defeat and “reflect” on their time in government as their conference gets under way.

Mr Sunak described this year as a “difficult one” for the party as “too many good Conservatives have lost their seats”, in a piece for The House magazine.

He said he “will always be sorry” that “he could not deliver the results that everyone’s efforts deserved”, in the article at the start of his final conference as leader.

The contest to replace Mr Sunak will feature prominently at the gathering in Birmingham as Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly are all vying for the leadership.

Writing in the magazine, Mr Sunak described the conference as “important moment for our party”.

He added: “This is our first conference in opposition since 2009. Of course, we need to learn the lessons of our defeat: we did not get everything right in government – no government ever does – and we do now need to reflect on that. But we should not forget what we have achieved since 2010.”

Families are warning the government will have “blood on its hands” if it turns its back on 3,000 prisoners as Labour is set to reject a review of cruel indefinite jail terms, The Independent has learned.

Among those with no sign of being released is James Lawrence who has served almost 18 years after being originally sentenced to just eight months and Thomas White who was sentenced to 12 years for stealing a phone.

Calls for these prisoners to be resentenced have only grown in light of the early release of thousands of prisoners to ease over-crowding. Indefinite stences were scrapped in 2012 amid human rights concerns, but not for those already detained.

Our crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin has the full story:

Conservative leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch has said she believes in maternity pay after appearing to suggest it was “excessive” earlier on Sunday.

In an interview with Times Radio presenter Kate McCann, the MP described statutory maternity pay as “a function of tax”, adding: “Tax comes from people who are working, we’re taking from one group of people and giving to another. This, in my view, is excessive.”

In a post on X hours later, alongside a clip of the interview, she claimed she was referring to the burden of regulation on businesses.

She said: “Contrary to what some have said, I clearly said the burden of regulation on businesses had gone too far… of course I believe in maternity pay!

“Watch the clip for the truth. Back to conference…”