This is The Guardian.

It was one of those moments where in a newsroom there are lots of people kind of swearing and looking at their phones with amazement.

This morning, I removed the Conservative whip from Robert Jenrick after dismissing him from the Shadow Cabinet.

The way she has handled this has been quite effective. It's put her on the front foot.

It hasn't given Jenric the chance to tell his story first.

I was very sorry to be presented with clear, irrefutable evidence,

not just that he was preparing to defect,

but he was planning to do so in the most damaging way possible.

It's a very badly kept secret

that he has been flirting with the idea of defecting to reform.

As far as Mr. Jenrick's concerned,

of course I've talked to Robert Jenrick.

Was I on the verge of signing a document with him? No, but have we had conversations? Yes.

You will look to, I think, the average person who's not deeply engaged in politics like a bit of a snake. I think it will look to a lot of people who are deeply engaged in politics like a bit of a snake as well, to be honest.

More Tory psychodrama as Kemi Badenock is forced to sack Robert Jenric over what she says

is irrefutable evidence he was planning to defect.

From The Guardians today in Focus, this is the latest with me, Lucy Hoff.

Joining me is Archie Bland, head of national news.

So it was feeling like a relatively quiet news morning, wasn't it,

until Kemi Badenock released a video from what appeared to be a kind of hotel room,

possibly her bedroom, her living room with a fuzzed out background.

So clearly recorded somewhat on the fly, we can assume, saying that she was

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