Kemi Badenoch, a contender for the Conservative leadership, made a bold statement at the party conference in Birmingham, suggesting that a small percentage of civil servants are so problematic that they deserve imprisonment. She claimed that around 5-10% of civil servants engage in leaking official secrets and actively undermine government ministers. During a fringe event at the conference, Badenoch clarified that her criticism was not aimed at all civil servants, but rather at a minority who she described as obstructive. "There are about 5-10% of them who are very, very bad. You know, should-be-in-prison bad," she asserted, highlighting her concerns about the integrity and loyalty of certain individuals within the civil service.