Kemi Badenoch and Bridget Phillipson clashed in parliament after the education secretary confronted the Tory leader in a heated exchange about her language during PMQs.
The leader of the opposition launched a scathing attack on Ms Phillipson in the chamber on Wednesday, branding her a “spiteful class warrior” and described her as incompetent.
Mrs Badenoch was scolded in the chamber for her language, but the row escalated after PMQs when the pair were involved in a behind-the-scenes row - after which Ms Phillipson accused Mrs Badenoch of having previously compared her to a Gestapo officer.
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The technology secretary Liz Kendall is understood to have told Mrs Badenoch that what she said was outrageous as the trio met in the division lobby.
A Tory source said Mrs Badenoch responded by telling the education secretary “I’ll fight you all the way, you’re destroying children’s lives” – a reference to the imposition of VAT on private schools.
Other sources suggested Mrs Badenoch told Ms Phillipson “you are spiteful, I’m never going to stop talking about how spiteful you are”.
Ms Phillipson is understood to have told the Tory leader: “The public are going to find out who you really are.”
The education secretary took to social media following the spat, writing: “Kemi lost her head at PMQs – and afterwards too.”
She also claimed Mrs Badenoch had previously compared to her to a Gestpo officer over her decision to introduce VAT on private school fees.
She wrote on X: “I wonder what it is about a working class woman driving record investment in state schools by ending private schools’ tax breaks that the Tories hate so much.”
The initial confrontation occurred during Mrs Badenoch’s regular exchanges with Sir Keir Starmer, where she directly criticised the education secretary.
Ms Phillipson was seen shaking her head as Mrs Badenoch claimed she "taxed private schools to pay for more teachers but the number of teachers has gone down".
“It turns out appointing a spiteful class warrior as Education Secretary was a disaster,” she said, suggesting Sir Keir had been “let down by her incompetence”.
Sir Keir defended members of his cabinet as they came under fire from Ms Badenoch in what was the outgoing prime minister’s first public appearance since Monday, when he announced his plan to resign.
He defended Ms Phillipson, who “grew up in poverty” and was an “incredible story of social mobility and success”.
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle asked for a “little bit more decorum and respect” after Ms Badenoch also called education secretary Bridget Phillipson a “spiteful class warrior” and accused Rachel Reeves of letting Sir Keir down.
A spokesman for Kemi Badenoch said she would “absolutely not” apologise for the language she used in PMQs.
It is understood the phrase Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle objected to was “they don’t like it up ’em” – which Mrs Badenoch had borrowed from classic TV sitcom Dad’s Army.
The spokesman said he thought Mrs Badenoch had been nice to Sir Keir Starmer in the Chamber and she felt sorry for him.
“There was very little aimed at the prime minister,” the spokesman said.
“This was about a Cabinet which has let him down, about a group of Labour MPs who have let him down and now they’ve got rid of him.”
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