Politics
UK right-wing leaders dispute alleged comments by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
A political row erupted between Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage over a retracted media report regarding their relationship with Italy's prime minister.
The short version
- Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage exchanged accusations following a retracted newspaper report about Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
- The Times amended an article that originally claimed Meloni had advised Badenoch against making a coalition deal with Farage.
- Meloni's office stated that she does not intervene in British domestic political dynamics or inter-party relations.
Key facts
- The Times published and later amended an article to remove a claim that Giorgia Meloni advised Kemi Badenoch against forming a political deal with Nigel Farage.[The Guardian]
- The Italian prime minister's team stated that Meloni does not engage in domestic political dynamics or relations between UK political parties.[The Guardian]
- Representatives from the Conservative Party and Reform UK traded public criticisms following the report's correction.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- Sources close to Farage claimed Meloni personally apologized to him for the confusion, a detail not independently verified by Meloni's official team.[The Guardian]
Sources
- Giorgia on their minds: Farage and Badenoch scrap to be mates with MeloniThe Guardian - World