Tom Tugendhat "could regret" pledging to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Tory insiders say - after GB News unearthed comments in which the ex-Security Minister categorically ruled out leaving the international body.
Tugendhat, who followed former Home Secretary James Cleverly as the second declared Tory leadership hopeful, addressed his comments about the ECHR on Thursday.
Speaking on GB News, the Tonbridge MP said: “If this [the ECHR] fails to reform, if it fails to work, if derogation fails to allow us to protect the British people then we need to leave.”
However, senior Conservative figures have suggested Tugendhat is pivoting his position.
‘It’s a ploy!’ Tugendhat under fire over ECHR pledge as Tory leadership contender ‘unclear’ over leaving Strasbourg courtGETTY“This is not the Tom Tugendhat I’ve known,” a top Tory told GB News. “He’s always stood up for the rule of law and keeping our international obligations.
“Reform voters can see straight through this ploy and it alienates moderate colleagues. Tom shouldn’t forget who his base is.”
A former No10 adviser added: “Other candidates will rightly expose Tom’s woolliness on the ECHR. We know in our heart of hearts that he’d be very uncomfortable doing it.
“Priti and Robert have put their flag in the sand and people believe it. But I think Tom could regret this the further he goes in the contest.”
Tugendhat has previously been critical of Conservative colleagues calling for the UK to withdraw from the convention.
During the 2022 Conservative leadership contest, Tugendhat rejected the prospect of leaving the ECHR.
After being asked about ending the Strasbourg court’s jurisdiction over the UK, the 51-year-old simply said: “No.”
WATCH: The unearthed video footage that SHATTERS Tom Tugendhat's ECHR claims
Tom Tugendhat is seen as a stalking horse for the moderate wing of the Tory PartyPASpeaking at the 2023 Tory Party Conference, Tugendhat also said: “People who have said they want to leave the convention, I can understand the argument, but it does raise some pretty big questions, whether that’s about the Good Friday Agreement, whether it’s about the devolved administrations, whether it’s about our relationship with other countries, including, in fact, the TCA, the Windsor agreement with the European Union.”
In a statement released in September last year, the Tory Reform Group said: “The UK must, under no circumstances, consider leaving the ECHR nor derogate from the human rights it underpins for the sake of the Rwanda policy.”
Tugendhat counts on the support of a number of TRG members and is a patron of the moderate ginger group, regularly attending events held for supporters in Westminster.
However, allies of the Tonbridge MP stress he has consistently backed derogation and is being swayed by the ongoing Channel crossing crisis.
A source close to Tugendhat told GB News: “Tom has consistently supported derogation from the ECHR for over a decade.
"With the small boat crisis worsening, he has made it clear that if the ECHR fails to reform and derogation fails to protect British people by securing our borders, then we must leave.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was among those calling for more clarity from the Tory leadership hopeful.
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ECHR courtGetty The Clacton MP said: “I saw a bit of the interview where he said we have to be absolutely clear but he wasn’t very clear, was he?”
Farage added: “ECHR membership is a Tory leadership issue because Reform is a force. The difference is we want to leave and they just pretend.”
Reform UK returned five MPs with 4.1 million votes, costing the Tories dozens of seats and further inflating Labour’s landslide majority.
Lee Anderson, who defected to Reform UK from the Tory Party earlier this year, also told GB News: “If Tom wants to leave the ECHR he needs to join the only party committed to leaving.”
The Ashfield MP was referring to Farage’s maiden speech in which the Reform UK leader called for a referendum on membership of the ECHR.
However, former Tory MP Sir Jake Berry suggested the UK does not need to hold a poll to withdraw from the ECHR.
Berry, who is backing Tugendhat to succeed Sunak, threw his weight behind the ex-Security Minister’s pledge on the Strasbourg court.
Reform UK are hoping Tom Tugendhat will win the leadership race GettyBut Berry also suggested Tugendhat should have adopted a more hardline stance when it comes to Strasbourg.
“He should have gone further,” the former Darwen & Rossendale MP said, “but it’s a big step away from Keir Starmer saying come hell, come high-water the ECHR is here to stay.”
During his Tory leadership launch video, Tugendhat put honesty and integrity at the heart of his pitch.
"I say what I mean and I do what I say," the former Security Minister said.
He added: "People want their leaders to be straight with them. No games. No gimmicks."
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dungeness, KentPATugendhat stood for Tory leader in 2022 but was eliminated in the third ballot after receiving the backing of just 31 predominantly One Nation Conservative MPs.
However, questions about the UK’s relationship with the ECHR have grown after the Strasbourg court appeared to halt the implementation of Sunak’s Rwanda plan.
The ex-Prime Minister flirted with leaving the ECHR, with Boris Johnson also weighing in on the issue.
Suella Braverman, Priti Patel and Robert Jenrick have been the Tory leadership hopefuls most supportive of leaving the ECHR.
However, James Cleverly appears to have followed a different path, with the Brexit-backing former Home Secretary instead vowing to "stand up" to the court's decisions rather than favouring leaving the convention.
