Comments suggesting maternity pay has "gone too far" have been seized on by leadership opponents as Tory conference gets under way.

Kemi Badenoch has insisted she does not think statutory maternity pay is “excessive” as a row over her views overshadowed the first day of the Tories’ annual conference. The leadership contender had appeared to suggest that the amount of money given to new mothers was too much in an interview on Sunday morning.

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".

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.

The contest for the party's top job intensified on the first day of the Conservative conference in Birmingham.

Conservative leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch has said she ‘will swing back’ when critics take aim at her, amid questions over whether her style is too combative. The former business secretary has grown her public profile in recent years as she has engaged in a series of culture war spats with figures including Doctor Who star David Tennant.

Kemi Badenoch says ‘of course’ she believes in maternity pay after appearing to call it 'excessive' - The Tory leadership hopeful said that ‘contrary to what some have said’ she does support maternity

We need to have more personal responsibility - there was a time when there wasn’t any maternity pay and people were having more babies." Badenoch later said that sh