Latest news with #AlainBerset
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Eurocrats shut down Labour's hopes of ECHR reform
The head of the organisation overseeing the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) has slapped down Labour's calls for reform. Just a day after Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, called for the ECHR to 'evolve' or lose public trust, Alain Berset, the secretary general of the Council of Europe, declared that he was 'not calling for reform' of the convention. Mr Berset appeared to distance himself from previous comments that he made no more than two weeks ago when he suggested that the ECHR must adapt in face of a growing backlash over migration, with 'no taboo' on rewriting its rules. The future of the ECHR – and the UK's application and disapplication of it – is one of the key dividing lines between the UK political parties. Nigel Farage's Reform wants out; Kemi Badenoch has suggested it is likely the UK will quit without reform of the ECHR; and Labour is seeking reform per se while drawing up new rules to curb judges' use of it in immigration cases. It has been brought to the fore by The Telegraph's exposure of dozens of cases where foreign criminals and illegal migrants have avoided deportation by claiming their ECHR rights would be breached if they were removed. In an interview with Politico, the political website, Mr Berset appeared to put himself at odds with all three main parties. He said: 'I am not calling for reform of the European Convention on Human Rights, nor do I support any effort that would weaken it. 'It should never be used as a scapegoat in domestic political debates. When states face complex challenges, the answer is not to dismantle the legal guardrails they themselves helped build. 'The proper place for dialogue is through our institutions, not through pressure on the European Court of Human Rights or attempts to bypass the system.' 'Meaningful reform is impossible' Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said Mr Beset's comments 'proved... meaningful reform is impossible'. He added: 'This proves what has long been clear: meaningful reform of the ECHR is impossible. Labour's fake plans to reform it is a ruse to trap us in the convention for decades more while our border crisis worsens. Starmer doesn't care enough about protecting the British public to leave.' Meanwhile, Ms Mahmood has warned the ECHR was 'fraying' public confidence in the rule of law because it is out of step with common sense. In a speech at the Council of Europe on Wednesday, she said public trust in the court was 'eroding' because it 'too often protects those who break the rules, rather than those who follow them'. UK ministers are proposing to raise the threshold to make it harder for judges to grant the right to remain based on article 8 of the ECHR, which protects the right to a family life, and article 3, which protects against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. There is not just pressure from the UK. Last month, nine EU leaders wrote to the Council of Europe warning that the ECHR was preventing them from deporting foreign criminals. They said European judges were interpreting the ECHR so widely that the 'wrong people' were being protected. This was placing 'too many limitations' on their governments' abilities to deport 'serious violent' offenders and drug dealers. They warned that the ECHR was threatening the safety of citizens because the way it was being interpreted prevented governments from tracking foreign criminals they could not deport. The nine – including Donald Tusk, the former president of the European Council and now the Polish prime minister, and the Italian premier Giorgia Meloni – said the ECHR was also undermining efforts to counter Russia's weaponising of migrants against the EU bloc.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Labour plan to stop foreign criminals exploiting human rights laws to avoid deportation rejected by Eurocrats
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood was immediately rebuffed by Europe after calling for a shake-up of human rights laws. She used a speech in Strasbourg to set out how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) 'feels out of step with common sense' and needed to 'evolve'. But the head of the Council of Europe – the organisation which drew up the ECHR 75 years ago – said the treaty should not be used as a 'scapegoat' and insisted he did not support any moves to amend it. Ms Mahmood said: '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. 'That the law too often protects those who break the rules, rather than those who follow them.' She added that post-war values of 'democracy, human rights and the rule of law' were now facing 'distortion, doubt, even hostility', as the public's confidence in them was 'fraying'. For example, she went on, the 'right to private and family life' under Article 8 of the ECHR has 'too often been used in ways that frustrate deportation'. Secretary general of the Council of Europe Alain Berset said he would not support any measures which would 'weaken' the human rights convention 'The ECHR is one of the great achievements of post-war politics. It has endured because it has evolved. Now, it must do so again,' she said. However, Council of Europe secretary general Alain Berset said he opposed changes to the convention. 'I am not calling for reform of the ECHR, nor do I support any effort that would weaken it,' he told the Politico website. 'It should never be used as a scapegoat in domestic political debates. 'When states face complex challenges, the answer is not to dismantle the legal guardrails they themselves helped build. 'The proper place for dialogue is through our institutions, not through pressure on the European Court of Human Rights or attempts to bypass the system.' It also emerged Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has launched a probe into how human rights laws are abused in extradition cases as part of a wider shake-up. She has ordered Home Office civil servants to conduct a review of the way Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights – which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment – is being deployed in immigration cases, especially extraditions. She is thought to be concerned over cases in which foreign nationals facing extradition from the UK are able to successfully argue it would breach their human rights because of poor conditions in prisons overseas. There have been several examples of Brazilian nationals dodging extradition because of jail conditions in their home country, for example. Last month Ms Cooper pledged to tighten the law on Article 8 in an immigration White Paper. It said the Government will neuter the ability of immigration courts to allow human rights appeals, by strengthening the 'public interest test', making it easier to deport foreign criminals and others. Legal changes will also make clear that Parliament has the final say on immigration law, and not judges. Ms Cooper's new review could mean human rights claims are curtailed when foreign nationals attempt to avoid deportation under Article 3 as well as Article 8, it is thought. New laws curtailing the use of human rights laws in immigration cases are set to be unveiled after Labour party conference in September, the Daily Mail understands. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said a Tory government would leave the ECHR if necessary. Former Tory home secretaries Priti Patel and Suella Braverman have both called for the UK to leave the convention.
The Independent
06-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Downing Street ‘welcomes' ECHR debate as Badenoch launches exit probe
Downing Street has welcomed discussion about changing how the European Convention on Human Rights operates. A Number 10 spokesman said on Friday it is 'important' there is discussion on how the system works, after Alain Berset, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, said in a rare interview there should be 'no taboo' about changing the rules of the agreement. It comes as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the ECHR had become a 'sword used to attack democratic decisions' and launched a review into whether she would commit to leaving the agreement. Asked about Mr Berset's remarks, a Number 10 spokesman said on Friday: 'Border security is vital to national security, and we welcome efforts to ensure the European Convention on Human Rights is being applied correctly and allowing countries to protect their borders. 'It's important there is discussion on how the ECHR operates to ensure it can safeguard human rights while meeting the needs of democracies. The Prime Minister has been clear on this, it should be parliament that makes the rules on immigration and government that makes the policy.' On Friday, Mrs Badenoch announced a review to be spearheaded by her shadow attorney general Lord Wolfson, to look into whether the UK should withdraw from the treaty which underpins human rights law. 'The ECHR is now being used in ways never intended by its original authors,' she told a Westminster event. 'It should be a shield to protect, instead, it's become a sword, a sword used to attack democratic decisions and common sense. 'This use of litigation as a political weapon is what I am calling lawfare. It isn't just damaging our security, it's also damaging our prosperity.' She said she was tasking her shadow minister Lord Wolfson with examining 'what the unintended consequences might be' if the UK were to leave the ECHR. 'Because it is clear that the ECHR is a major issue, I'm not asking Lord Wolfson if we should leave, that's a political not a legal question,' she said. 'I'm asking him to set out how we would leave and to consider what the unintended consequences might be, not least in Northern Ireland, if we decide to go down this route, we must do so knowingly.' Shadow home secretary Chris Philp suggested earlier on Friday that the ECHR could not be reformed. He told the BBC: 'I don't really take that very seriously. There have been previous attempts to do it.'
Belfast Telegraph
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Downing Street ‘welcomes' ECHR debate as Badenoch launches exit probe
A Number 10 spokesman said on Friday it is 'important' there is discussion on how the system works, after Alain Berset, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, said in a rare interview there should be 'no taboo' about changing the rules of the agreement. It comes as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the ECHR had become a 'sword used to attack democratic decisions' and launched a review into whether she would commit to leaving the agreement. Asked about Mr Berset's remarks, a Number 10 spokesman said on Friday: 'Border security is vital to national security, and we welcome efforts to ensure the European Convention on Human Rights is being applied correctly and allowing countries to protect their borders. 'It's important there is discussion on how the ECHR operates to ensure it can safeguard human rights while meeting the needs of democracies. The Prime Minister has been clear on this, it should be parliament that makes the rules on immigration and government that makes the policy.' On Friday, Mrs Badenoch announced a review to be spearheaded by her shadow attorney general Lord Wolfson, to look into whether the UK should withdraw from the treaty which underpins human rights law. 'The ECHR is now being used in ways never intended by its original authors,' she told a Westminster event. 'It should be a shield to protect, instead, it's become a sword, a sword used to attack democratic decisions and common sense. 'This use of litigation as a political weapon is what I am calling lawfare. It isn't just damaging our security, it's also damaging our prosperity.' She said she was tasking her shadow minister Lord Wolfson with examining 'what the unintended consequences might be' if the UK were to leave the ECHR. 'Because it is clear that the ECHR is a major issue, I'm not asking Lord Wolfson if we should leave, that's a political not a legal question,' she said. 'I'm asking him to set out how we would leave and to consider what the unintended consequences might be, not least in Northern Ireland, if we decide to go down this route, we must do so knowingly.' Shadow home secretary Chris Philp suggested earlier on Friday that the ECHR could not be reformed. He told the BBC: 'I don't really take that very seriously. There have been previous attempts to do it.'
Powys County Times
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Downing Street ‘welcomes' ECHR debate as Badenoch launches exit probe
Downing Street has welcomed discussion about changing how the European Convention on Human Rights operates. A Number 10 spokesman said on Friday it is 'important' there is discussion on how the system works, after Alain Berset, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, said in a rare interview there should be 'no taboo' about changing the rules of the agreement. It comes as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the ECHR had become a 'sword used to attack democratic decisions' and launched a review into whether she would commit to leaving the agreement. Asked about Mr Berset's remarks, a Number 10 spokesman said on Friday: 'Border security is vital to national security, and we welcome efforts to ensure the European Convention on Human Rights is being applied correctly and allowing countries to protect their borders. 'It's important there is discussion on how the ECHR operates to ensure it can safeguard human rights while meeting the needs of democracies. The Prime Minister has been clear on this, it should be parliament that makes the rules on immigration and government that makes the policy.' On Friday, Mrs Badenoch announced a review to be spearheaded by her shadow attorney general Lord Wolfson, to look into whether the UK should withdraw from the treaty which underpins human rights law. 'The ECHR is now being used in ways never intended by its original authors,' she told a Westminster event. 'It should be a shield to protect, instead, it's become a sword, a sword used to attack democratic decisions and common sense. 'This use of litigation as a political weapon is what I am calling lawfare. It isn't just damaging our security, it's also damaging our prosperity.' She said she was tasking her shadow minister Lord Wolfson with examining 'what the unintended consequences might be' if the UK were to leave the ECHR. 'Because it is clear that the ECHR is a major issue, I'm not asking Lord Wolfson if we should leave, that's a political not a legal question,' she said. 'I'm asking him to set out how we would leave and to consider what the unintended consequences might be, not least in Northern Ireland, if we decide to go down this route, we must do so knowingly.' Shadow home secretary Chris Philp suggested earlier on Friday that the ECHR could not be reformed. He told the BBC: 'I don't really take that very seriously. There have been previous attempts to do it.'
