Robert Jenrick has been accused of a major U-turn after earlier previously “siding with Strasbourg” with pro-European Union comments ahead of the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Mr Jenrick is now seen as the most right-wing candidate left for the role of Conservative Party leader, but his new “hard-line” stance appears to be at odds with his earlier Remainer views, according to critics.

Just Mr Jenrick and rival Kemi Badenock remain in the battle to be finalised next month. Ms Badenoch is looking at reforming the party with more centrist policies.

Mr Jenrick has pledged to the right of the party that he would deport about one million illegal immigrants, reintroduce the Rwanda scheme, and force firms to employ British workers.

He is also the only contender who has said he would withdraw the country from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

But, critics have pointed to his previous pro-Brussels remarks and anti-Brexit position.

In June 2016, he said at PMQs: “Today, British manufacturers – particularly small businesses – are worried because if we leave the European Union

“They value the single market and want to export, but they are aware that the United Kingdom will have no say whatsoever in the formulation of those standards, and their competitive advantage will be destroyed.”

Three months earlier, he wrote: “I am concerned about the short-term risks of leaving in terms of job losses, delays in investment coming to the UK, and risks to small businesses as well as the larger ones.

“If we vote to leave there would, no doubt, be risks for several years and there would be considerable uncertainty, but I am sure as a country we would pull through it.”

It has led some to question how truthful his new hard-line stance actually is, reports GB News.

One pro-Brexit Tory told its website: “There’s no shame in Rob being a staunch Remainer back in 2016, but it does make me worry about what he really believes in. We had the same with Truss.

“I want to trust that he’s now someone who cares about immigration numbers and will fight the European Courts on deportation, but his history shows he’s always sided with Strasbourg.”

A Reform UK source added: “Robert Jenrick can’t escape the reality that he voted Remain, he tried to keep us in the European Union with open borders and in Government, he sat around the Cabinet table supporting decisions that left us with the highest immigration figures on record.

“The reality is, Robert Jenrick wants us to believe he has had a Damascus-like conversion but his recent record paints a very different picture.

“If voters want secure borders, lower taxes, and a party that proudly stands up for British people, then Reform UK is the only option.”

However, Mr Jenrick insists his new right wing approach is genuine, accusing French President Emmanuel Macron of wanting to punish the UK with the Channel crossing crisis.

He has claimed withdrawing from the ECHR is key to Conservative strategy.

Mr Jenrick told the website: “I have come to the firm conclusion that we will not secure our borders, we won’t get foreign criminals out of our country, we won’t tackle terrorism unless we leave the European Convention on Human Rights.

“It is not a reform bill, it’s an organisation of 46 countries from Iceland to Andorra. You’ll never get unanimity to change it, so you have to leave.

“That is what I want to persuade the public of. If we don’t do that, then I’m afraid we will not get a grip on those really important issues.

“And the public are not going to give us a second or a third chance if we don’t take serious action now to fix these problems.”

On Tory MP added: “He has done a really good job of explaining why we need to leave ECHR, and that is clearly informed by some of the problems he saw while at the Home Office.

“It is quite rare for someone to resign on an issue of principle but I think on illegal immigration Rob has been completely vindicated. He is clearly sincere and has thought a lot about it and is very persuasive on this.”