Kent’s newest Conservative MP, Katie Lam, has endorsed Tory leadership front runner Robert Jenrick ahead of the latest stage of the selection process tomorrow.

Ms Lam, who won the newly-created Weald of Kent seat at the general election in July, said he is the best person to unite the party and take it forward into the future.

The Conservatives were reduced to 121 seats and now have to choose a new leader to replace the defeated Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Ms Lam, who secured an 8,400 plus majority, said Mr Jenrick, who represents Newark, has strong credentials on rural matters and immigration.

Their paths crossed when Ms Lam was a special adviser at the Home Office and in Downing Street, prior to becoming an MP.

Five candidates remain in the race for the leadership - Tom Tugendhat (who is a former security minister and current MP for Tonbridge), and former secretaries of state Mel Stride, Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly.

The field of five will be whittled down to four tomorrow who will then make their pitch to the party members at conference in Birmingham at the end of this month.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I spoke to Robert last week and told him that I would be backing him tomorrow (Sept 10).

“I’ve said from the start that I want the best for my constituents and be the best MP that I can be. I am worried that the countryside will be left behind and, like me, Robert has a very rural seat so he understand the issues.

“He has also been strong on the subject of immigration and served as the immigration minister. He was the minister when I was a main adviser on national security at the Home Office.”

Ms Lam said there is much to be done to make the Conservative electable again.

She said the strong showing by Reform UK at the general election - the party gained more than 10,000 votes in the Weald of Kent - emphasised the mountain to climb.

Ms Lam added: “There is a very big job to be done in rebuilding the party and I know that Robert is very keen to get stuck into that.

“A lot of voters left the Conservatives and voted for Reform UK. I know because Reform got 10,000 votes in my constituency and to get them back we will have to win their trust on issues like immigration”

She said that she was in favour of the Rwanda deportation scheme.

Ms Lam added: “That deterrent has now been removed and now we can see the numbers ticking back up again and the organised criminal smuggling gangs are rubbing their hands.”

Asked why she was not backing her neighbouring MP Tom Tugendhat, Ms Lam said: “Tom is an excellent candidate. We have got some really strong candidates but it can’t be simply be about the geographical location of our constituencies.”

Like Mr Jenrick, Ms Lam was educated at the University of Cambridge before she went into finance.

She polled more than 20,000 votes, more than 8,000 ahead of Labour in second place and Reform UK in third.