ROBERT Jenrick has welcomed the defection of Tory MP Andrew Rosindell MP to Reform UK and accused his former colleagues of dishonesty.
On joining Reform UK, he told GB News: “I’m afraid I very slowly, over a period of time, came to the conclusion that I was naive, that the party was not going to change, that it was not capable of changing.
“And the worst thing of all, which is about honesty, was that the people at the top of the party were not willing to even appreciate, to concede that they were the ones who’d made the mistakes. And if you can’t ‘fess up to what you’ve done, then you are not going to be the people who can turn the country around and fix Britain.
“So that’s why I chose to make this very difficult decision. And as regards Reform, I’m delighted I’ve done this. I’m part of a very exciting team now that wants to fix Britain under Nigel Farage, who is a strong leader. And in tough times, you need to have somebody with real conviction running the party and the country, and someone who’s been consistently right on the big issues, none more so than on immigration.”
Jenrick welcomed the defection of Andrew Rosindell MP: “Well, firstly, absolutely delighted that Andrew has chosen to do this. You know your viewers may know him. Great constituency MP, a very true patriot, superb addition to the Reform team.
“Look, if there are other Conservative MPs who share the values and the principles of Reform who want to turn the country around and fix it, then I’m sure Nigel would welcome into the party, but he has said, and he’s absolutely right to do so that this is going to have to happen quickly.
“After the May elections, then the door closes and Reform moves on. It can’t be that people just make up their mind, or johnny-come-latelys to this. So it’s make your mind up time now for people who share the values and the principles of Reform. And I suspect more will choose to follow in Andrew’s path.”
Asked what the Prime Minister should be saying to President Trump about Greenland, Jenrick said: “Well, he needs to get behind the table with Donald Trump, and he needs to have a proper diplomatic conversation with him and try to resolve this.
“What Trump has done is completely wrong. It’s totally unacceptable to use bully boy tactics and threats of tariffs to deal with this situation when you’re working with allies of the United States like ourselves and Greenland.”
He said the US should be allowed to increase its military presence in Greenland: “Greenland , the Arctic, what’s known as the High North, is a very strategically important place, and in the years ahead, we can’t allow our adversaries like Russia and China to gain a foothold in that area.
“It’s going to be one of the most strategically important parts of the globe for the rest of our lifetimes. That can be resolved, however, diplomatically.
“If the US wants to put more forces or equipment in Greenland, then I’m sure that’s possible. In fact, there are existing arrangements that allow them to do that. In the Cold War, they had 15,000 troops in Greenland.
“This needs to be resolved diplomatically by allies, by getting around the table, and that’s what I want to see Keir Starmer do in the days ahead.”