Kemi Badenoch says Conservatives do not condone Jack Ross's conduct
Kemi Badenoch responded after the Conservatives suspended former candidate Jack Ross pending an investigation into allegations aired by Al Jazeera.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
Kemi Badenoch said the Conservative Party does not condone Jack Ross’s conduct after an Al Jazeera undercover investigation involving the former party candidate. Her response, reported by Al Jazeera on October 22, came a day after the party suspended Ross’s membership while it conducts its own investigation.
The suspension is a formal party action, while the allegations in the documentary remain matters reported by Al Jazeera. Ross has completely denied the broadcaster’s findings and said comments he made to an undercover reporter were not serious, according to Al Jazeera.
What did Kemi Badenoch say about the Al Jazeera investigation?
Al Jazeera reported that Badenoch said the party did not condone Ross’s conduct as presented in its investigation. The available report does not give a fuller account of her remarks or say that she personally directed the suspension.
A Conservative Party spokesperson said Ross’s membership had been suspended immediately pending an investigation, according to the Guardian and Al Jazeera. The spokesperson said the party could not comment further while that process was under way.
Why was Jack Ross suspended?
Al Jazeera’s investigation, titled Contract Killers and the Far Right, was published after undercover reporting that the network said began in 2021. The broadcaster said its footage showed Ross discussing the cost of violent services and offering to act as an intermediary for a contact whom it alleged had paramilitary links.
Ross was chief executive of Turning Point UK, an independent offshoot of the US group Turning Point USA, according to Al Jazeera. He had previously stood as a Conservative candidate in 2023, the broadcaster reported.
Al Jazeera said Ross introduced its undercover reporter to Allan Nesbitt, whom it described as a convicted violent criminal with alleged links to the Ulster Volunteer Force. The investigation included allegations that Nesbitt said he could arrange violence for money. Those are claims made in the broadcaster’s reporting, not findings of a court.
Will police investigate the documentary?
Police Scotland said it was aware of the programme and would review and assess it for possible criminality, the Guardian reported. The statement did not say that police had opened a criminal investigation or reached conclusions about the allegations.
The sequence separates the party’s disciplinary process from the police assessment: Al Jazeera published its investigation on October 20, the Conservatives suspended Ross on October 21, and Badenoch’s response was reported on October 22.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.