Kemi Badenoch in trouble over Stanford University claim

Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, is facing fresh questions over her past after a former Stanford University admissions officer disputed her claim that she once received an offer to study pre-med in the United States.

Badenoch has repeatedly cited the supposed offer in interviews, portraying it as an example of her parents’ financial struggles to secure her the best education despite her strong academic record.

In a 2017 interview, Badenoch said her dreams of being a doctor like her parents were cut short at 16 because she went to a “very bad school” in the UK.

Badenoch attributed part of her growing up to the US because “my mother worked internationally, so when she travelled, so did the kids”. “I had actually got admission into medical school in the US – I got into Stanford pre-med – and I got into medical school in Nigeria, but I came here (the UK) because being a citizen, it was just a lot cheaper,” she said in the Huffington Post interview.

The claim was repeated in another interview feature published by the Times last year.

“At 16, her US SAT scores won her a partial pre-med scholarship to Stanford, but her family still couldn’t afford the place,” the report said. The narrative was also featured in other UK dailies. However, Stanford does not have a pre-med major, according to its website.

“For any of the health professions, you may major in any discipline,” the notice adds.