Education secretary says she'll turn Tory leader's insult into a T-shirt

Education secretary says she'll turn Tory leader's insult into a T-shirtImage source, PA MediaImage caption, Phillipson is in a war of words with the Tory leader over her schools policiesByJennifer McKiernanPolitical reporterPublished20 minutes agoEducation Secretary Bridget Phillipson has told the BBC she will be turning Kemi Badenoch's attack on her at Prime Minister's Questions into a T-shirt.The Conservative leader called Phillipson a "spiteful class warrior" for taxing private school fees to pay for more teachers in state schools "but the number of teachers has gone down".Sir Keir Starmer mounted an impassioned defence of Phillipson, saying he was "proud" that she was his education secretary - but the two women exchanged harsh words after PMQs and continued their row on social media.Badenoch's latest post doubled down, telling Phillipson: "You are sacrificing the future of generations of kids on the altar of your class envy."Asked about Badenoch's comments by Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Phillipson said: "Next time you see me, Nick, I'll be wearing a T-shirt saying 'spiteful class warrior' - because if being a spiteful class warrior means lifting half a million children out of poverty I'll be wearing that t-shirt with pride."Phillipson said Badenoch had recently compared her to a Gestapo officer and added: "Kemi Badenoch can speak for herself and her own unique brand of unpleasant politics - I'm focused on better life chances for children. "I think you're losing the argument when you reduce yourself to that level of abuse."Phillipson was pressed on whether she had crossed a line herself, by accusing Conservative shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy of racism for describing a mass Muslim public prayer in Trafalgar Square as an "act of domination and division".In March, Sir Keir had called on Badenoch to s...