Kemi Badenoch reveals ‘hysterical’ level of personal attacks faced as a black woman

Kemi Badenoch: ‘There’s a certain cadre of people who clearly can’t cope with the fact that I won this and I’m doing it.’ Photograph: Lucy North/PA

Kemi Badenoch has spoken openly about the racism she has suffered as the first black woman to lead the Conservative party.

The Tory leader told the Sunday Times she had been surprised at the amount of racism she had faced since being elected, having previously insisted that Britain was “the best place in the world to be black”.