Political reporter
ReutersHuman rights law should not prevent foreign criminals from being deported, the justice secretary has said.
In a speech Shabana Mahmood said that too often the law “protects those who break the rules”, and the government was “clarifying” how such laws operate.
She told a meeting of foreign ministers at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg that the UK was committed to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) but it needed to evolve to respond to new threats.
Some Conservatives have argued the UK needs to leave the treaty altogether to take back control of the country’s immigration system.
The ECHR, which was established in 1950, sets out the rights and freedoms people are entitled to in the 46 signatory countries and is a central part of UK human rights law.
It is overseen by the Council of Europe, which is separate to the European Union but is made up of members including EU countries, the UK, Turkey and Ukraine.
Mahmood told the meeting she welcomed a “dialogue” about the ECHR’s future.
“Because our convention was never meant to be frozen in time,” she said.
“It has been amended, extended and interpreted over decades – responding to new threats, new rights, and new realities. And we must consider doing so again.”
She said the UK was already “actively pursuing” how the convention is implemented domestically.
The government has promised new legislation to clarify how Article 8 of the ECHR – which protects the right to family life – operates in relation to immigration rules and to ensure Parliament can control the country’s borders.
Mahmood cited cases where foreign criminals had invoked Article 8 to avoid deportation, saying this felt “out of step with common sense”.
She also gave the example of dangerous prisoners using the same article to attempt to block prison staff from putting them in separation centres.
She added: “There is a growing perception – sometimes mistaken, sometimes grounded in reality – that human rights are no longer a shield for the vulnerable, but a tool for criminals to avoid responsibility.”
The Conservatives have called for human rights law to be disapplied from all immigration cases and for the government to have the power to deport all foreign criminals.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she believes the UK will likely need to leave the ECHR because it has become a “sword used to attack democratic decisions” and to halt attempts to remove illegal migrants and foreign criminals.
She has launched a commission, which is due to report back in the autumn, to look at the potential consequences of leaving the treaty – an issue which has split the Tory Party.
Other members of the Council of Europe have also called for the ECHR to be reformed to make it easier to deport foreign criminals.
In an open letter in May, nine countries, led by Italy and Denmark, said there were concerning cases where the convention had “resulted in the protection of the wrong people”.
Earlier this month the head of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, told the Times newspaper he recognised the convention needed to “adapt” to a changing world.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said leaving the ECHR would be “a very bad idea”, which “would put Britain right next to Vladimir Putin’s Russia”.
He said the UK should “have a proper discussion” with other countries who want to see changes to the convention but added: “Most of what is there actually works extraordinary well for our country and the rights of many, many citizens.”
