Robert Jenrick lifts the lid on dramatic defection and tells LBC what Kemi Badenoch really thinks of him

Mr Jenrick dismissed being called a "traitor" by his former Conservative colleagues as "water off a duck's back" and claimed Kemi Badenoch never liked him much anyway.

The former immigration minister admitted to LBC that being kicked out of the Tory party really did happen after he left his speech on his desk, before someone ratted him out to the leaders' office.

He also said that his father helped him to make his crucial decision over the Christmas dinner table.

And he admitted he agonised over making the call for far too long - saying it was one of many regrets of his time in politics.

In a wide-ranging interview, the former Housing Secretary and shadow justice secretary:

• Revealed his wife has defected to Reform too
• Hinted he wanted to get the job of Home Secretary, saying he wants to see migration 'resolved'
• Said only by having a PM focused on immigration, could the small boats crisis be stopped
• Distanced himself from Nigel Farage's comments on Greenland, saying it shouldn't be given away - but stressed there's a deal to be done
• Slammed Labour calling Reform fascist as 'childish and puerile'
• Admitted he was 'radicalised' by his time at the Home Office

He told LBC: “It has been a hell of a week. I can't lie to you. A lot has happened.

"But I feel excited actually. It was a decision I spent a lot of time thinking about.

"I probably agonised over it for too long because it's a conflict really of loyalties between your political party, which I've been a part of for a very long time, and what I thought was right for my constituents and for the country.

"And I resolved to do this over Christmas and in the first few days of this year.”

Mr Jenrick revealed that he'd spent time discussing it with his father, who isn't political, who told him to be true to how he felt.

He said: “It's difficult because it's such a big decision, but you can't really talk to many people about it for obvious reasons. "But it was a subject of debate over the dinner table at Christmas […] He's a very straightforward person.

"My parents are not political, you know, never part of members of political parties. But he just asked me, in the end, if there was a general election tomorrow and you were not involved in politics, who would you vote for?

"I said, Reform.”

The rest of his family were "broadly supportive" but he admitted "opinions vary in any family".

Mr Jenrick said: "At the end of the day, you're in politics for a purpose, which is to try to make the country a better place, as you see it.

"And I came to the view over a long period of time that the Conservative Party was not the way to do that. It had let the country down very badly when it was in government on a range of different issues.

"I had tried to change it and I don't think anybody could argue other than that I'd been very frank about the mistakes that had happened and urged it to be honest with itself, to bring forward different people and policies.

"But I had in the end to conclude that it hadn't really learnt its lessons, it wasn't going to change and therefore it was not best placed to be trusted by the public to do things differently if it was ever lucky enough to be in office again."

He said there were "probably too many" regrets from his decades within the Conservative party and at the top of government, after unleashing a string of vicious attacks on his former colleagues.

Last week Mr Jenrick claimed "both Labour and the Conservatives broke Britain," and accused his former party of "ramping up" mass migration.

Launching a scathing attack on his former party, Mr Jenrick said the Conservatives "don’t have the stomach for the radical change this country needs," and claimed they "are not sorry" about mistakes previously made in Government.

Read more: LIVE: Farage welcomes Jenrick to Refrom as he thanks Badenoch for 'late Christmas

Read more: If you want to kill a snake in the grass, the best thing to do is cut off its head - that’s what Badenoch has done to Jenrick, writes Iain Dale

He admitted that he too "definitely got stuff wrong" and wish he'd done more.

But his biggest regret was trusting his staff too much, adding: "I probably wrestled with this decision about leaving the Conservative Party for too long, and I certainly shouldn't have. […] "I certainly shouldn't have left my speech lying on my desk in my office. Too trusting!”

After Ms Badenoch beat him to the leadership after the general election, she surprised many by handing him a big job in her shadow cabinet.

But after the drive-by attacks by his former leader in the last week, Mr Jenrick says he gets the feeling she never liked him in the first place.

He said: "She obviously doesn't like me very much and she's lashed out, I get that. […] "I don't know what she says about other people behind their backs as well!"But what she hasn't done is really contested the argument that I've made. You know, in fact, she's confirmed it. I've said Britain is broken. She said it isn't broken."

Mr Jenrick, who served as immigration minister under Rishi Sunak, before resigning, admitted that he was "radicalised" by his time at the Home Office.

And he hinted that he'd like to serve again in that role, if he got the chance, adding: “I honestly don't know. I mean, we have talked about my own interests […] I want to see that issue resolved 100%. But ultimately it's his decision.”

In recent months, Sir Keir Starmer has turned his fire on Reform, setting up a fight ahead of the next election between the two parties, not with the Tories.And ministers have taken to the airwaves to call the party "fascists".

Mr Jenrick says those attacks are "childish" and "puerile", saying it's "one of the reasons why people are turning away from the Labour Party."

He said: "What do they mean by that? Is raising issues about immigration or crime or integration? "Fascism? And it's actually offensive, isn't it? "Because racism, fascism, it's undermining these terms to band them around. "And when you really see people who have abhorrent views, far-right views, they should be condemned, contested as strongly as possible.

"But if you bandy them around, spray them around like confetti to people who don't share those views at all, then it weakens and diminishes those views. So, it's very disappointing, actually."