Kemi Badenoch brushed off suggestions her former Conservative leadership rival Robert Jenrick is a threat to her authority.
The Tory leader insisted she has a “great team”, which she said is focused on its local elections campaign, when asked about reports Mr Jenrick added some 600 people to a WhatsApp group on Thursday.
Eyebrows were raised in Westminster about the move, first reported by the Guido Fawkes website, which led to speculation shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick was canvassing Conservative opinion about the future leadership of the party.
He was the runner-up to Mrs Badenoch in the Tory leadership contest held following last summer’s general election.
Asked if she had been added to the WhatsApp group, from which many people were soon after removed, Mrs Badenoch said: “Yes, and then no, I think is the correct answer to that.”
Speaking during a local election campaign visit to Cambridgeshire, the Conservative leader also told broadcasters: “I think he’s running a marathon. That’s what I’ve been told.
“I don’t really understand yet what happened with the WhatsApp group, but it’s not the first time this week that loads of journalists and politicians have been added to a WhatsApp group. Seems to be the trend these days.”
Pressed whether she thought Mr Jenrick was a threat to her leadership, Mrs Badenoch said: “I have a great team, and I’m leading a team that is uniting the Conservative Party.
“What we’re really focused on now is ensuring that people understand that voting Conservative at the local elections is the only credible option.
“Look at Birmingham, where rubbish is piled high on the streets, rats running around. I’m really worried about what will happen if loads of councils are no longer Conservative-run.”
The Conservative leader has sought to cast her party as competent and careful when it comes to running councils during a series of visits while canvassing for seats in town halls across England.
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She has however admitted the May 1 elections will be challenging for her party, and also warned voters “you will have to live with what you vote for” if they choose to back insurgent party Reform UK over the Tories.
Mrs Badenoch’s Cambridgeshire visit saw her touring a surgical robotics company’s factory, where she greeted her party’s Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election candidate Paul Bristow with a hug.
On the factory floor, Mrs Badenoch saw a series of small scissors, hooks to dissect tissue and graspers, and later a console which surgeons can use to control the robots.
She heard the business uses triple glazing and solar panels and replied: “In terms of electricity costs, you’ve been able to minimise your own impact.”
Mrs Badenoch also saw robotics arms which were undergoing tests. She held a component which allows the machines to replicate the movement of a human wrist.
“It’s very heavy,” she said.