Kemi Badenoch compares Labour plans for new race laws to 'apartheid South Africa' as Business Secretary vows to 'never shut up' in continuing trans rights feud with Doctor Who actor David Tennant

Cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch today compared Labour's plans for new race equality laws to 'apartheid South Africa'.

The Business Secretary hit out at the party's 'morally repellent' proposals as the general election campaign entered its final week.

In a forthright speech at the British Chambers of Commerce global annual conference, Ms Badenoch also continued her feud with actor David Tennant.

She vowed she was 'never going to shut up' about 'the divisive agenda of identity politics' following her clash with the former Doctor Who star over transgender rights.

In their election manifesto, Labour have pledged to introduce a 'Race Equality Act' to 'enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for Black, Asian, and other ethnic minority people'.

The 'landmark' legislation will also 'strengthen protections against dual discrimination and root out other racial inequalities', the document states.

Labour are also promising, if they win power, to build on the existing legal obligation for larger businesses to report on disparities in pay between men and women.

They want to introduce disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers. 

But, in her speech to the British Chambers of Commerce, Ms Badenoch attacked Labour for seeking to 'micro-manage' firms.

'Their vision of the future economy is one that micro-manages your business to meet their political objectives,' she said.

'That includes the divisive agenda of identity politics. And I'm never going to shut up about that, no matter how many Doctor Whos say so.

'Identity politics is why Labour's biggest change is to introduce a new Race Equality Act.

'In their manifesto they say they will enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities. But you know and I know we already have laws that do that.

'This is going to be much more political. A law that will be used to work out what people of different ethnicities should be paid. And they'll be checking on you.

'You will have new mandatory reporting on ethnicity pay gaps, which their new enforcement body will be inspecting closely.'

Ms Badenoch claimed Labour's plans would be 'great for job creation for compliance consultants and employment tribunals'.

But she added this was 'not the route to improving productivity or delivering real economic growth'.

The Business Secretary told business leaders: 'Labour's proposals divide the country into black/white, rich/poor, old/young.

'Because they see people as target groups not as individuals, and they see you as greedy exploiters not wealth creators.

'I think classifying your work force by race and having this influence their salaries is morally repellent.

'It's what they did in apartheid South Africa and what they do now in China and Myanmar. We should not be going anywhere near this stuff.'

Tennant recently sparked a fierce row with Ms Badenoch following his acceptance speech at the British LGBT Awards, where he won a prize for being a 'celebrity ally'.

He suggested he wanted a world where the Cabinet minister - who has faced criticism over her approach to trans rights - 'doesn't exist any more', and that she should 'shut up'.

But Ms Badenoch hit back and branded the actor a 'rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can't see the optics of attacking the only black woman in government by calling publicly for my existence to end'.