Priti Patel quits Kemi Badenoch's top team as Tom Tugendhat set to be named shadow foreign secretary
Priti Patel has quit Kemi Badenoch's shadow cabinet as Tom Tugendhat is set to be named as her successor.
Ms Badenoch will have a major reshuffle of her top team as the Conservative Party prepares for a potential early General Election.
Mr Tugendhat, a former soldier and security minister, has been a backbencher in the Tories since he challenged for party leadership in 2024.
Dame Priti will take on a new senior Party role leading the Conservatives’ international engagement and relations.
A source close to Ms Badenoch said: "Within Parliament, Tom has almost unrivalled credibility in foreign affairs as a former soldier, Security Minister and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
“Kemi actually gave Tom the good news while he was in Taiwan, talking to the Taiwanese government about the threat of China - a mark of how he is respected across the world.
"Contrast that with Ed Miliband, who has spent his first months touring the world pushing his weird net zero agenda.
“Kemi has made defence one of the central organising principles of her leadership. Alongside Alex Burghart and James Cartlidge, Tom will be part of a three-person team leading on our national security and international affairs."
Dame Patel said: "I’m pleased to continue supporting Kemi and the Conservative Party in a new role strengthening our relationships with fellow conservatives and centre-right parties around the world.
"At a time of profound global uncertainty, when our values and freedoms are under threat, conservatives must work more closely together. We should be learning from each other, sharing ideas and making the case for the values we believe in: freedom, free enterprise, lower taxes and individual responsibility.
“It has been an honour to lead the Party’s foreign affairs team in Parliament over the last two years. We have challenged Labour when it has failed to defend British interests, opposed its £35 billion Chagos surrender, and demanded stronger action to protect Britain from the threats posed by China, Iran and Russia.
“From the appointment of Mandelson as US Ambassador and kowtowing to China, to abandoning our friends and allies in the Middle East, Labour has repeatedly failed to put British interests first. I wish my successor well in continuing to hold the Government to account."
She added: "Returning to the backbenches also gives me greater freedom to stand up for Witham and Essex and challenge Labour Ministers directly over the decisions hurting my constituents.
“Whether it is axing the A12 and A120 schemes, cancelling Lodge Farm Primary School, threatening our countryside and local councils, or cutting policing, I will be a vocal champion for my constituents in the House of Commons and will hold Ministers publicly to account."
Mrs Badenoch said: "Priti has been exceptionally loyal, hard-working and supportive during a very difficult period for the Party.
"She came into the Shadow Cabinet when we needed experienced people who could operate without a large infrastructure behind them. Priti has done a very important job.
"Now I am asking her to do another important job, as International Secretary of the Conservative Party. This role will draw on her time as Home Secretary and Shadow Foreign Secretary, her work internationally and her relationships around the world.
"I am immensely grateful to Priti for the work she has already done and will do in her new role.“
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