Kemi Badenoch has slapped down Priti Patel for defending the last Tory government’s record on immigration.

The shadow foreign secretary told The Sun that the Conservatives only allowed “the brightest and the best” to come to the UK from abroad after Brexit.

She also said it was “totally distortionary” to suggest the previous government had “thrown open our borders” to the rest of the world, despite net migration at one point hitting a record high of 903,000 in the year to June 2023.

But that earned her a fierce rebuke from Badenoch, who has regularly criticised the Conservatives’ own record while in power.

A spokesman for the Tory leader said: “As Kemi said when she committed to a hard cap on visas in November, under her leadership the Conservative Party will tell the truth about the mistakes we made.

“While the last Conservative government may have tried to control numbers, we did not deliver.

“We are now developing a detailed plan on immigration to put before the British public before the next election, so voters have a clear choice: Labour, who will keep immigration far too high; or a new plan and a hard cap on numbers with Kemi’s Conservatives.”

In a major humiliation, Patel was also forced to issue a statement on X praising Badenoch’s “new leadership”.

She said: “The immigration system in our country is not fit for purpose. As I said in the interview, I was not happy about the high numbers while the Conservatives were in government.

“Our party is now under new leadership and it is important we learn from our mistakes and how we can do things better. As a former home secretary, I have seen no interest whatsoever from any other political parties in understanding the system or learning these lessons.

“I’m pleased the leader of the opposition and shadow home secretary have said they will develop a new plan on how to control immigration, including a hard cap on visas. This is what is needed. More words will not solve the problem.”