Kemi Badenoch was forced to deny suggesting maternity pay is ‘excessive’ today as the Tory leader battle ramped up.

The shadow housing secretary came under furious attack from Labour after she was asked about the benefit during an interview at party conference this morning.

Ms Badenoch was arguing that businesses face too much red tape and the tax burden is too high when she was pressed on maternity pay.   

‘Maternity pay varies depending on who you work for, but it is a function, where it’s statutory maternity pay. It is a function of tax,’ she said.

In other developments as candidates mount their charm offensive on the Tory faithful today: 

• Robert Jenrick said the immigration system was at the top of his list to address if he wins the contest;
• James Cleverly blamed ‘constant infighting’ and ‘bickering’ for the Tories’ defeat and argued he had been a ‘team player’ in government; 
• Tom Tugendhat insisted his public school background was not a drawback to him being the next Tory leader;
• Contenders have all weighed in behind Rosie Duffield after she quit Labour and slammed Keir Starmer over sleaze. 

‘Tax comes from people who are working. We’re taking from one group of people and giving to another. This in my view is excessive… the burden of regulation is too high…’

Pushed by presenter Kate McCann if she was saying maternity pay was ‘excessive, Ms Badenoch seemed to continue making her point, saying: ‘I think it’s gone too far the other way in terms of general business regulation. 

‘We need to allow businesses, especially small businesses, to make more of their own decisions. 

‘The exact amount of maternity pay in my view is neither here nor there. We need to make sure that we are creating an environment where people can work and people can have more freedom to make their individual decisions.’

Ms Badenoch went on to say that mothers made choices based on all sorts of factors. She said: ‘We need to have more personal responsibility. There was a time when there wasn’t any maternity pay and people were having more babies…’

When McCann said that was ‘because women often had to not work’, the former Cabinet minister accused her of ‘putting words in my mouth’. 

‘The point I’m making, Kate, is that we have got to a point where government isn’t working anymore and it’s tinkering everywhere,’ she said.

‘Me giving you an exact amount of what maternity pay should be when circumstances are different everywhere is not where we’re starting from.’ 

Aides stressed that Ms Badenoch had not been trying to suggest maternity pay is too high, but had been referring to ‘general business regulation’.

And post a slightly fuller video of the interview on X Ms Badenoch insisted: ‘Contrary to what some have said, I clearly said the burden of regulation on businesses had gone too far… of course I believe in maternity pay! 

‘Watch the clip for the truth. Back to conference…’ 

Women who are employed and earn at least £123 a week are eligible for statutory maternity pay.

Mums are paid 90 per cent of their salary for six weeks, and then whichever is lower of 90 per cent of their salary or £184.03 a week for the next 33 weeks.

Many companies voluntarily offer more generous packages on top of the statutory payment. 

Ms Badenoch, Mr Jenrick, Mr Cleverly and Mr Tugendhat are laying out their cases at the party’s annual conference in Birmingham. 

A survey of grass roots by ConservativeHome has underlined that Ms Badenoch and Mr Jenrick are the favourites to take the crown from Rishi Sunak after his humiliating defeat at the election. But there are signs Mr Jenrick is whittling away his opponent’s advantage.

They have both been focusing their fire on immigration – with Ms Badenoch claiming too many people with anti-Israel views have been allowed to migrate to Britain. She insisted that ‘not all cultures are equal’, suggesting child marriage and women’s rights as topics that were non-negotiable.

‘When you go to other countries they demand that you believe in it,’ she told Sky News. 

Her combative stance was underlined in a separate interview with the BBC, where she accused Laura Kuenssberg of ‘trying to get me to say’ that the problem was Muslims coming to the UK.

Ms Badenoch also said she would ‘congratulate’ Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on strikes that killed the Hezbollah leadership in Beirut, and the country was showing ‘moral clarity’ in taking out ‘terrorists’. 

And she warned critics such as Doctor Who star David Tennant – with whom she rowed about trans rights: ‘If you swing at me I will punch back.’

Describing her appeal to voters, Ms Badenoch said: ‘I am something that is just different and unique.’