Badenoch Allegedly Plotted to Remove Sunak as Prime Minister

New claims suggest Kemi Badenoch plotted to oust Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister months before the recent general election.

25 Aug, 05:00 — 25 Aug, 15:05

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Why this matters

This story matters as it reveals alleged internal party strife and leadership challenges within the Conservative Party shortly before a significant election. Such revelations can impact public perception of party unity and leadership stability, especially in the context of a recent landslide election defeat.

Key entitiesKemi Badenoch Rishi Sunak Anthony Seldon

The Story

What 2 sources agree on, dispute, and miss

What sources agree on

Kemi Badenoch allegedly plotted to remove Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister.
The allegations are made in a new book by Sir Anthony Seldon.
The alleged plotting occurred months before the general election.

Key claims1 agreed · 1 unverified

✓

Kemi Badenoch asked fellow Tory ministers 'if anyone was interested in changing the captain'.

agreed·The GuardianThe Independent

Badenoch did not like 'rude' Sunak and wanted to 'bring him down' as PM.

unverified·The Independent

Coverage gaps

Badenoch's alleged dislike of Sunak, specifically that she found him 'rude' and wanted to 'bring him down'

ReportedThe Independent

MissingThe Guardian

The Story

Analyzing sources…

Source Diversity

Low (19/100)

2 sources— more sources would strengthen this score15/33

Spectrum spread— 1/5 buckets covered0/33

Far L2

Far Left (2)

The GuardianThe Independent

Left

Center

Right

Far R

Geographic diversity— 1 region4/34

UK2

⚠Only covered by left-leaning sources

ℹAll sources from UK region

ℹOnly 2 sources cover this story

Sources

Showing 2 of 2 sources

The GuardianMostly Factual6d ago

Badenoch plotted to remove Sunak as PM months before election, book claims

Anthony Seldon’s book alleges Badenoch asked fellow Tory ministers ‘if anyone was interested in changing the captain’ Kemi Badenoch plotted with fellow Conservative cabinet ministers to remove Rishi Sunak as prime minister months before the general election, it has been claimed. Anthony Seldon, who has written political biographies of every prime minister since John Major, has alleged in a new book that Badenoch, who was business secretary at the time, phoned several other cabinet ministers t...

By Peter Walker Senior political correspondent

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The IndependentMostly Factual6d ago

Badenoch plotted to ‘take out’ Sunak as prime minister before Labour’s landslide election victory, new book claims

Exclusive: Badenoch did not like ‘rude’ Sunak and wanted to ‘bring him down’ as PM, new book by Sir Anthony Seldon claims

By Simon Walters

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Coverage Timeline

First report: The Independent · 25 Aug, 05:00|Full coverage: 2 · 10h|Window: 10h

Left-leaningCenterRight-leaning

The Independent25 Aug, 05:00First to report

Badenoch plotted to ‘take out’ Sunak as prime minister before Labour’s landslide election victory, new book claims

10h later

The Guardian25 Aug, 15:05Latest update

Badenoch plotted to remove Sunak as PM months before election, book claims

Story evolution

Initial Book Leak/Report2026-08-25T05:00:00.000Z

The Independent first reported exclusively on the book's claims regarding Badenoch's alleged plot to remove Sunak.

Wider Media Coverage2026-08-25T15:05:00.000Z

The Guardian subsequently covered the same allegations, citing the same book and adding further details about the alleged plot.

Badenoch Allegedly Plotted to Remove Sunak as Prime Minister

Why this matters

The Story

What sources agree on

Key claims1 agreed · 1 unverified

Coverage gaps

The Story

Source Diversity

Source Diversity

Sources

Badenoch plotted to remove Sunak as PM months before election, book claims

Badenoch plotted to ‘take out’ Sunak as prime minister before Labour’s landslide election victory, new book claims

Coverage Timeline

Badenoch plotted to ‘take out’ Sunak as prime minister before Labour’s landslide election victory, new book claims

Badenoch plotted to remove Sunak as PM months before election, book claims

Story evolution

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Why this matters

Story evolution

The Story

What sources agree on

Key claims1 agreed · 1 unverified

Coverage gaps

Coverage matrix