Kemi Badenoch challenged on recent claims relating to UK trade and Post Office row

In the House of Commons today, Kemi Badenoch was challenged consecutively by two senior Labour MPs over her recent claims relating to her row with former post office boss Henry Staunton and UK trade.

In a point of order this afternoon, shadow leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell said: “I wonder if you [the commons deputy speaker] could clarify how we could get some transparency to the questions that the prime minister failed to answer about the business secretary [Kemi Badenoch’s] dispute with the former chair of the Post Office and whose recollection of that meeting is, in fact, correct?”.

Chair of the House of Commons business and trade select committee Liam Byrne then referred to the mixed messages received from Canadian officials and the UK business and trade secretary over whether trade talks between the two countries are ongoing.

He asked the deputy speaker in a further point of order: “How do we get to the bottom of whether these trade talks are going on in the secretary of state’s mind or whether they’re happening in real life?”.

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