Kemi Badenoch claims Robert Jenrick's call to quit the ECHR will 'split the Tories' as leadership rivals clash in TV debate

The final two Tory leadership contenders engaged in a fierce clash over Britain's membership of the European Convention on Human Rights in tonight's TV debate.

Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick put themselves at odds to each other over the issue as they competed to woo Conservative Party members.

Mr Jenrick, a former immigration minister, has made leaving the ECHR a key plank of his campaign as he bids to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader .

But, appearing alongside Mr Jenrick on GB News this evening, Ms Badenoch warned her rival risked splitting the Tory party.

'The ECHR argument is not the right one,' she said 'I think it will divide our party, it will mean the infighting and the squabbling will continue.'

She urged the Tories to 'end the drama' and reach 'a consensus', adding: 'Maybe that is leaving the ECHR, but it is not about imposing your views on everybody else.'

Mr Jenrick had earlier said his 'crystal clear policies' - such as quitting the ECHR and having a cap on legal migration to the UK - would see the Tories face down the threat from Reform UK.

He warned the Tories would 'never be in government again' unless they win back disaffected voters or those who switched to Nigel Farage 's Reform in July.

Mr Jenrick highlighted immigration as the key issue behind the party's devastating general election loss.

He said a failure to deliver on migration pledges during 14 years in power explained 'why our party is where it is right now'.

The Newark MP added: 'It's the reason that we lost four million of our people to Reform at the general election and millions more who decided to stay at home.

'You know who those people are, whose trust we lost, and we've got to get them back. If we don't get them back home to our party, we'll never be in government again.'

Mr Jenrick repeated his call for Britain to leave the ECHR and to introduce a cap on legal migration in the 'tens of thousands or lower'.

But later during the TV debate, which saw each candidate answer questions from an audience separately, Ms Badenoch swiped at Mr Jenrick's numerous policy pledges.

She said the Tory leadership contest was 'not a test of who can make the biggest promises', adding: 'This is not a general election. We had one of those already, and we lost.'

Ms Badenoch added later: 'The public removed us from government because they felt that we were not competent and that we were not delivering on our promises.

'The answer is not to make new promises. The answer is to do the job they have given us properly, and that is the job of opposition.

'If we can show that we have integrity, if we can show that we share their values, if we can show that we have learned the lessons of the past, then they will give us another chance.

'That is why I'm standing for renewal. That is why I am not throwing out lots of policies.'

Ms Badenoch also sniped that Mr Jenrick's key policy pledge for Britain to quit the ECHR was not a 'silver bullet' in tackling illegal migration.

She warned there needed to be a 'proper wholesale plan' and claimed the Tories should not be 'rushing out to give promises'.

'If we need to leave the ECHR in order to control migration, we should leave it,' she said.

'But it is not a silver bullet. It's not even the most radical thing that we can do.

'Immigration is too high, both legal and illegal. We need to tackle that. It is causing a strain on public services. We're not able to build up, build housing to keep up.

'It is not fair, but we have to ask ourselves, why is it that countries that are in the ECHR are able to deport people who are there illegally better than us?

'France is able to send back about 70 per cent whereas we send back about 10 per cent so it cannot be the ECHR that is stopping us from doing that.

'That is why I don't want us rushing out to give promises when we don't have exact reasons for what is happening.

'The ECHR may be a solution. It is something that I would consider. But if we are going to do that, we're going to have to have a proper wholesale plan.'