Kemi Badenoch has said people are “scared to have families” due to the cost amid an ongoing row about her comments on maternity pay. On Sunday, the Tory leadership contender had said the government was doing “too much” on statutory maternity pay, before backtracking on the remarks.

Kemi Badenoch has argued that birth rates in the UK are falling because people are ‘scared to have families’. Badenoch, who is in the running to be the next leader of the Conservatives, campaign was bruised yesterday by a row over whether she had described maternity pay as ‘excessive’ during a radio interview.

Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch has suggested maternity pay has "gone too far" and the government needed to interfere less in people's lives. 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" which she called "excessive".