Kemi Badenoch has repeatedly refused to say whether she admires Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, the Tory leader said she did not “understand the question” when asked if she held her rival in high regard.

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Asked what she thought of Mr Farage, whose party is currently leading in the polls, Ms Badenoch replied: “I think it’s very interesting that a lot of the media in Westminster is very interested about asking about Nigel Farage.

“I’m not interested in Nigel Farage, I’m interested in the Conservative Party.”

Ms Badenoch was speaking against the backdrop of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, where the party has announced a string of policies, including a promise to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and “ICE-style” deportations if she wins the next election.

The announcements have been interpreted as an attempt to respond to the threat posed by Reform, who have already announced plans to leave the ECHR and carry out mass deportations.

Last month, they also vowed to scrap indefinite leave to remain, which gives people the right to settle, work and study in the UK and claim benefits, and to make obtaining British citizenship the only route to permanent residence in Britain.

However, the Conservatives have sought to use their conference to distinguish themselves from Reform, branding their spending plans “socialist”.

It comes despite a poll of Tory members by YouGov showing that 64% support an electoral pact with Reform, while almost half of Tory members – 46% – would support a full-blown merger.

Speaking to Sky News, Ms Badenoch admitted there was “a lot we could do better” given the Conservatives had dropped in the polls from 26% to 17% and her personal poll ratings stood at -47.

But she said: “I don’t let these things distract me. The fact of the matter is that last year we lost in a historic defeat. We never had so few MPs, and it’s going to take time to come back from that.

“I am absolutely determined to get our party out of this, but I always said that things would get worse before they got better because we’d be out of government.”

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The conference has been dominated by questions of collaboration with Reform, after 20 Tory councillors announced they were defecting to Reform – on top of the eight who have moved to Nigel Farage’s party since March.

On Monday, Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said he believed the Conservatives and Reform needed to work together.

“I’ve made it clear all the way through, and nothing has changed, that I am for the Conservatives and Reform working together,” he told GB News.

“We need right-of-centre unity to defeat the left.

“If that means the Conservatives and Reform working together, we should do it. I don’t see Reform as our enemies. It’s a split on the right, and we need to come together.”

Put to her that the Tories may need to work with Reform, Ms Badenoch ruled out a pact and told Beth Rigby: “I’m not interested in doing pacts. I was not elected to have a pact with Reform.

“I was elected to change the Conservative Party, make it clear what we stand for and that’s what I’ve done at this conference.

“Robert Jenrick is not the leader of the Conservative Party, neither is Andrew Rosindell. I am.”

The man injured by a police bullet in the Manchester synagogue attack feels so unsafe he no longer wants to live in this country, his ex-wife has told Sky News. 

Along with their children, Naomi Finlay has been visiting Yoni Finlay in hospital since the attack last week.

She said he was “shocked” to hear about the level of antisemitism she and their children had been facing before the synagogue was targeted.

“When I went to see him in the hospital, I spoke to him about some of the antisemitism we’d faced personally,” Mrs Finlay said.

“Some of the things I hadn’t discussed with him before, and he didn’t know. And he was really, really upset for me and the children that this is what we’ve been through.

“He expressed that he definitely does not feel safe in this country – and he’s questioning his future here.”

Ms Finlay told Sky News that she and her children have faced threats and abuse, some reported to the police.

“We’ve been shouted at, the kids have been shouted at,” she said.

“My son, his biggest fear is being recognised as Jewish. The second he leaves the synagogue, the kippah comes off his head.

“On October the 7th, two years ago, someone tried to knock my brother over while he was walking back from the synagogue.”

‘It’s something you’ve been waiting for’

Ms Finlay added that although the attack on the Heaton Park synagogue was a shock, as her family had been living on “constant alert”, it did not come as a surprise.

“The second I heard something, I knew absolutely – I knew what it was,” she added. “There’s no doubt in your mind. Because it’s something, yes, you’ve been waiting for – but anticipating with dread.”

It took hours before Ms Finlay was able to find out from a family member who was also at the synagogue that Yoni had been injured but was still alive.

“We live close to the synagogue – we saw and heard everything,” she said. “The beginning of the day – where we are just on the streets asking anyone, ‘Have you seen him? Have you seen him?’ – that was definitely the hardest part.

“It was so difficult for the kids, because that’s their dad.”

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Yoni was among those barricading the doors to stop the attacker, Jihad al Shamie, from getting inside the synagogue.

Al Shamie was shot and killed by police, but one of their bullets came through the synagogue door – striking Yoni and killing Adrian Daulby, one of the two men who lost their lives.

Yoni was in surgery for seven hours on the day of the attack. Ms Finlay added he “remembers everything”, including the moment the bullet struck.

Although she said he is still in a lot of pain, he is now stable and recovering.

“The kids have been taking him some treats,” she said, “saving him half of their chocolate bars and taking them into him.

“Things from school, letters from friends they’ve been taking in to show him. They are just really wanting him back.”

‘Who’s going to protect us?’

Two years to the day since the 7 October terror attack in Israel, Ms Finlay finds it “really hurtful” that pro-Palestine marches are taking place across the country, less than a week on from the attack in which Yoni was injured.

“It was just that little bit further away – and now it’s not further away,” she said. “Even today there’s protests going on – on one of the saddest days for Jewish people worldwide.

“I feel like we can’t even get a break on that one day to actually grieve and process our feelings.”

Although she said the police have been “amazing” since the attack, she worries about what will happen to her and her family when the attention dies down.

“We worry that in a few weeks, when all this simmers down, are we still going to feel reassured? Are we still going to be protected?

“You know, who’s going to look after our kids when they’re in school? Who’s going to look after us when we go pray in the synagogue? Who’s going to protect us?”

A woman has been filmed cutting yellow ribbons tied to a gate in London, put up in commemoration of Israeli hostages.

When confronted by two bystanders near the gate in Muswell Hill, north London, the woman said: “I’m not committing a crime.

“If I am, then call the police and you let them know that you have an issue with this.”

In the video, a man branded the woman “a disgusting little human being,” to which she replied: “I think condoning genocide is disgusting.”

The bystander asked her: “So we’re condoning genocide?”

The woman then appeared to point at the ribbons and said: “That’s what this is.”

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The yellow ribbon has been used as a symbol of the plight of those taken captive since the 1979 US-Iranian hostage crisis, and has become synonymous with the hostages held in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

The ribbons are used as part of the ‘Bring Them Home’ campaign, which was introduced to raise awareness of the hostages’ plight and help amplify calls for the unconditional release of those still held by Hamas.

The Metropolitan Police told Sky News: “Officers have stepped up reassurance patrols in the Muswell Hill area, following reports that yellow ribbons were removed from fence poles.”

A spokesperson said the force was made aware of a video circulating online which “appears to show a woman removing the ribbons in Muswell Hill” at 4.25pm on Monday.

“Officers attended the location and are reviewing the footage to determine whether any offences, including hate crime or criminal damage, have been committed. Enquiries remain ongoing,” the spokesperson added.

Officers are asking anyone with information to contact the force.

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The incident happened just a day before the second anniversary of the October 7 attack, when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel says 48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s offensive has killed more than 67,000 people in the region since 7 October 2023. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says more than half of those killed are women and children.