Kemi Badenoch beat Robert Jenrick to the Tory leadership last year.

A senior Tory has shone a light on tensions at the top of the party after he struggled to answer a question on Robert Jenrick’s leadership ambitions.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp was asked whether the shadow justice secretary is a “team player” amid mounting speculation that he wants Kemi Badenoch’s job.

Jenrick - who lost the Tory leadership contest to Badenoch last year - has been criticised by some Conservative MPs for regularly commenting on issues that are outside his brief, such as the future of the Chagos Islands.

Badneoch’s performance in the six months since she became leader has been widely criticised, and the widely-expected losses in Thursday’s local elections are set to ignite further speculation about her future in the job.

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