SCOTTISH Tory MP Andrew Bowie has defended party leadership contender Kemi Badenoch after she suggested maternity pay was “excessive”.
Badenoch was blasted over her comments in a radio interview on Sunday, in a move some argued may tank her ambitions to take the reins from Rishi Sunak.
When asked about the level of maternity pay in the UK – which is among the lowest levels in the developed world – Badenoch said that regulations on businesses were “excessive”.
Later on Sunday, she said her remarks had been “misrepresented”, adding she thought maternity pay was a “good thing” and was not excessive.
Speaking on the BBC’s Politics Live, Bowie – who is supporting her in the contest – said people were “wilfully misrepresenting” Badenoch’s words as he hit out at other leadership hopefuls he suggested were “insecure”.
Bowie said: “Kemi is clear, she’s been clear, maternity pay is here to stay and she supports that. People are wilfully misrepresenting what Kemi said.”
When presenter Jo Coburn argued people were not wilfully misrepresenting her remarks, Bowie continued to insist “they are”.
Coburn said: “We played the whole piece so no one could say we’d taken it out of context or misquoted.”
“We need to reduce the cost of doing business in this country. But she absolutely supports statutory maternity leave.
“The wilful misrepresentation of her comments by other leadership candidates speaks more to their insecurity in this contest.”
Bowie insisted Badenoch had not reversed her position during the day adding: “Kemi supports statutory maternity pay.”
He clarified he did not think maternity pay was excessive.
Asked about the level of maternity pay in the UK on Times Radio on Sunday, Badenoch said: “Maternity pay varies depending on who you work for, but it is a function — where it’s statutory maternity pay — a function of tax.
"Tax comes from people who are working. We’re taking from one group of people and giving to another. This in my view is excessive.”
Pressed on whether she considered maternity pay “excessive”, Badenoch replied: “I think it’s gone too far the other way in terms of general business regulation. We need to allow businesses, especially small businesses, to make more of their own decisions. The exact amount of maternity pay in my view is neither here nor there.”
Her rivals have seized upon the comment with Tom Tugendhat saying he wanted to see “strong maternity and paternity pay”, while Robert Jenrick said he did not “agree with Kemi on this one”, The Telegraph reported.
