The claim refers to events on Sunday 31 May 2026 (the Sunday before the 3 June 2026 speech). The evidence strongly corroborates the claim: - **Pat McFadden** is the current Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (the "Welfare Secretary" referred to by Badenoch). - On Sunday 31 May 2026, McFadden was interviewed on **LBC** (a national radio station) by presenter **Lewis Goodall**. - LBC produced a segment titled "We counted how many times Lewis had to ask Labour's Pat McFadden about the benefits bill..." confirming that McFadden was repeatedly asked about the benefits bill and struggled to answer. - The LBC article states: "Mr McFadden, now the DWP boss, couldn't tell Lewis Goodall on Sunday last weekend whether he wanted to save money on the benefits bill." - A HuffPost article confirms the interview took place on that Sunday, with Goodall pressing McFadden on government matters including the leadership situation. The core factual assertions — that the Welfare Secretary was on national radio on Sunday, was repeatedly asked about benefits cuts, and could not give a clear answer — are all confirmed by LBC's own reporting and footage. The specific count of "12 times" is Badenoch's characterization of LBC's segment; while the exact number 12 cannot be independently verified from the text snippets available (LBC's video would contain the precise count), LBC itself counted the number of times and produced a segment about it. The underlying facts are accurate. The claim is accurate in its essentials: the Welfare Secretary was on national radio on Sunday, was repeatedly pressed on whether he would cut the benefits bill, and failed to give a clear answer. The specific "12 times" figure aligns with LBC's own counting exercise, which was the basis for the claim. Sources: - Hansard, UK Parliament — Prime Minister's Questions, 3 June 2026: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-06-03/debates/0258B9EB-0744-4475-9B89-486CC9238A26/PrimeMinister - LBC — "We counted how many times Lewis had to ask Labour's Pat McFadden about the benefits bill" (Facebook video): https://www.facebook.com/LBC/videos/we-counted-how-many-times-lewis-had-to-ask-labours-pat-mcfadden-about-the-benefi/1555518419237156/ - LBC — "Pat McFadden's welfare warning will be a gift to Labour's critics": https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/pat-mcfadden-welfare-mandelson-tax-opinion-5Hjdb2d_2/ - HuffPost UK — "Lewis Goodall Demolishes Labour Leadership Speculation" (confirms LBC interview on 31 May 2026): https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lewis-goodall-labour-leadership-starmer_uk_6a1c0f58e4b005ae41836551