Badenoch: I almost died in flash flooding

KEMI BADENOCH has revealed that she almost died in flash flooding last year and had to wade through the water to safety in high heels.

The Business Secretary was travelling back from an event in her constituency in Saffron Walden, Essex, in April with her husband when they were suddenly surrounded by water.

Mrs Badenoch told

“I always used to think: ‘How do people die in flash floods?’ But the water came from nowhere. And there was just a slight dip in the road and, suddenly, all the electrics went off.

“We got out of the car. The water was thick and strong and fast. We were wading, waist-deep, and it was pitchblack. I had heels on!”

She added that the family car had to be “written off” after the ordeal, but suggested that she had feared an even worse outcome.

“There could have been a by-election,” she added.

Mrs Badenoch also spoke about her original motivations behind becoming a Tory, which she said was in part because of being at university with “snotty, middle-class north Londoners”.

“One of the things that drove me insane was how they talked about Africa. So high-minded – ‘We need to help Africans’; ‘Let’s boycott Nestlé, because they make African mothers give their babies powdered milk’.

“Having parents who were doctors, I knew when women are malnourished, formula milk might be a better alternative, and mothers with Aids can’t breastfeed at all.

“These stupid Leftie white kids didn’t know what they were talking about. And that instinctively made me think: ‘These are not my people.’”

Mrs Badenoch said that as her fellow students protested against tuition fees, she wrote a letter to her college newspaper that said: “There are overseas students here who pay tens of thousands of pounds in fees – and you’re complaining about £1,000.”

Mrs Badenoch added that her letter was published, but the editor added a “snarky reply”.

The Business Secretary, who also holds a women and equalities brief, grew up in Lagos in Nigeria as the eldest of three children.

She is known for being outspoken about gender.

Mrs Badenoch said: “I feel being a woman is a much stronger part of my identity than being black or Nigerian. Because it is so real.

She added: “Puberty, menstruation, menopause. It is very biological. And I grew up in a place where people would exploit that.”