There was a time when there wasn’t any maternity pay and people were having more babies’. Badenoch confirms she is not opposed to principle of maternity pay, as row over her 'excessive' claim escalates 14:10 Kemi Badenoch has put a post on social media saying she backs the principle of maternity pay.

Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch has said maternity pay has "gone too far" and the government needed to interfere less in peoples' lives. Speaking to Times Radio, Badenoch said statutory maternity pay,

Statutory maternity pay is “excessive” and the red tape around the benefit has “gone too far”, Kemi Badenoch has suggested.

Robert Jenrick said that the party should be ‘firmly on the side of parents’ in the wake of Ms Badenoch’s interview.

Speaking to Times Radio, Badenoch said statutory maternity pay, set up to support mothers for 39 weeks after having a baby, is a "function of tax", calling it "excessive". The shadow business secretary did not say what she thought the right level of maternity pay should be,