Cleverly says he would not have used Badenoch's Gestapo jibe

Cleverly says he would not have used Badenoch's Gestapo jibeImage caption, Sir James Cleverly was asked about the comments on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programmeByJennifer McKiernanPolitical reporterPublished5 minutes agoSir James Cleverly said he would not have compared a government minister to a Gestapo officer, after Kemi Badenoch's comments about Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. The Conservative leader made the Nazi comparison while criticising the government's decision to end a tax exemption for private schools, an insult which drew heavy criticism from Labour.Appearing on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Sir James, the shadow housing secretary, criticised Labour's education record but when pressed on whether he would have made the remark himself, said: "No, I probably wouldn't have done."Badenoch has not apologised for the comment, which Phillipson said showed she was "not fit to be prime minister".Badenoch was also highly critical of Phillipson at Prime Minister's Questions earlier this week, describing her as a "spiteful class warrior".The Conservatives have accused Labour of targeting families with children at private schools with VAT to raise money for more teachers in state schools, while instead overseeing a fall in teacher numbers. Badenoch told the Spectator earlier this month that the education secretary had "acted like a Gestapo officer" in doing so. Asked about the insult, Sir James said: "The point is Bridget Phillipson has pursued an agenda which has nothing to do with raising money, nothing to do with recruiting teachers, it is about punishing people who spend their own money to send their children to private school."Pressed on whether he thought the language was appropriate, Sir James said: "So that wouldn't have been the phraseology that I use, but you can see Kemi's explanation there."Phillipson has...