Richard Hermer, the attorney general, has challenged Kemi Badenoch to say whether she would object to Jewish prayer in public, after the Conservative leader backed one of her shadow ministers who said an Islamic prayer event was intimidating and un-British.

Hermer, one of the UK’s most prominent Jewish politicians, said Badenoch’s decision to support the views of Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, put her on a par with Reform UK and Tommy Robinson, the far-right activist.