Kemi Badenoch isn’t exactly known for beating around the bush, and her spat with a Labour MP at this evening’s Women and Equalities Select Committee was no exception. After Kate Osborne accused the Business Secretary of using ‘inflammatory language’, and likening ‘children and young people coming out as trans to the spread of a disease’, Badenoch didn’t hesitate to hit back, saying:
KB: I never said that. That is a lie.
KO: Well…
KB: That is a lie. And I think you should withdraw that statement. That is a lie. You are lying. You are lying.
KO: I’m not lying to you…
KB: You are. I have never used the word disease. And this is exactly what I’m talking about. You are making a statement in a select committee that are untrue.
KO: You’ve just called me a liar.
The rather heated debate continued, with Badenoch pressing Osborne: ‘When was that statement made? And where? You said I used the word “disease”.
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