Kemi Badenoch and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson were involved in a heated exchange in the Commons after Ms Badenoch branded her a “spiteful class warrior”.
The row escalated when Ms Phillipson accused the Tory leader of having “lost her head” following a behind-the-scenes incident after Prime Minister’s Questions.
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 Ms Phillipson, who “grew up in poverty” and was an “incredible story of social mobility and success”.
After the ill-tempered Prime Minister’s Questions exchanges, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall and Ms Phillipson were involved in a further incident with the Tory leader.
Ms 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.”
On social media following the spat, Ms Phillipson said: “Kemi lost her head at PMQs – and afterwards too.
“It’s not the first time. She’s compared me to a Gestapo officer.
“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.”
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.
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle asked for a “little bit more decorum and respect” after Ms Badenoch also called the education secretary Bridget Phillipson a “spiteful class warrior” and accused Rachel Reeves of letting Sir Keir down.
