Liz Truss hints that she could appoint Kemi Badenoch foreign secretary of she becomes PM

BRITISH prime ministerial hopeful Lizz Truss has hinted that Nigerian-born Member of Parliament (MP) Kemi Badenoch could be appointed as the next foreign secretary if she succeeds on getting into Downing Street.

Last month, Ms Badenoch , the MP for Saffron Walden threw her hat into the ring as the race to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson began. Badenoch, 42, a former levelling up minister, was eventually eliminated from the contest after coming fourth with 59 votes in the fifth round of the contest.

With the race for prime minister now down to the last two candidates, Ms Truss and former chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak, are slugging it out. Having been guarded over speculation as to who could be in her potential cabinet, Ms Truss cracked a smile, yesterday, however, when asked by an audience member if any previous candidates had impressed her.

When Ms Badenoch  was cited, Ms Truss asked the questioner which role she had in mind  and she smiled again when foreign secretary was the answer. She replied cautiously that she ensure the best talents are appointed into her cabinet.

Ms Truss said: “I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I can tell you that I will make sure the best players from the Conservative Party are on the pitch. I can promise a leaner No10 which has become too presidential.”

Later on, Ms Truss outlined her determination to tackle illegal immigration, which she called a criminal operation. She repeated her backing of the scheme to deport some migrants to Rwanda and said this could be expanded to other countries.

She added: “I am prepared to take robust action with the French and European Union (EU) to get things done. I will use the most cost effective method of making sure people are going to Rwanda. People are using the EU court of human rights to stop the deportations, so I introduce a British bill of rights that would speed up the process."