The Conservatives have not ruled out pledging to leave the European Convention on Human Rights during the election campaign, James Cleverly has signalled.
The agreement is seen as a barrier by some on the Tory right to driving down unauthorised migration, as it allows migrants to challenge their removal via the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights.
The Home Secretary has previously appeared supportive of the UK remaining in the ECHR.
But with a renewed threat from Reform, as Nigel Farage returns to the front line of politics, Mr Cleverly suggested the Tories were open to the move.
Mr Farage’s party has pledged to leave the ECHR in its election offer, with the Reform leader suggesting it would ensure “sovereignty” over the UK’s borders.
Asked by reporters about whether the Conservatives could pledge to withdraw from the convention, the Home Secretary said: “We have absolutely made the point that the ECHR needs reform and we have driven reform.
“We have already driven reform of the ECHR which demonstrates that it can be done.
“But the Prime Minister has been absolutely clear, I have been absolutely clear: our priority is to protect our borders, to defend our nation, and if we are presented with a choice between defending ourselves or the views of a foreign court, we will always, always, choose to defend our borders, defend our country.”
Mr Cleverly had earlier told broadcasters that no other political party would influence the Conservatives’ migration policy.
“Conservative policies are created with the British people in mind,” said the Home Secretary, who is also the Tory candidate for Braintree.
“We focus on their needs, on the needs of the British economy and the British people, and our policies are not dictated by any party.
“We have got a credible plan, it is a plan which is already working, bringing those migration figures down and projected to continue to do so under a Conservative government.
“No other party has got a credible plan for migration. Not Reform, not the Lib Dems, not Labour.”
Mr Farage is standing as the Reform candidate for Clacton in Essex, and vowed he would be a “bloody nuisance” in Westminster if he succeeds in becoming an MP at his eighth attempt.
He wants Reform UK to effectively take over the Conservative Party, in a similar scenario to the situation in Canadian politics in 1993, when Stephen Harper was elected as a Reform MP but went on to head a “new Conservative” government.