New Bill could see European judges ignored

European Court of Human Rights decisions blocking removal flights to Rwanda would be ignored under a Bill of Rights also tasked with increasing deportations of foreign criminals.

Dominic Raab is introducing the proposed legislation to parliament today after the Strasbourg court disrupted the government’s controversial flagship policy for asylum seekers who arrive in unauthorised journeys.

The deputy prime minister wants the successor to the Human Rights Act to assert that British courts do not always need to follow case law from Strasbourg and that the Supreme Court in London is the ultimate decision-maker on human rights issues.

And the legislation would confirm that interim measures such as the one issued over the Rwanda policy are not binding on UK courts.

Labour warned the “con” would take rights away by removing a key obligation that has allowed women to force police to investigate rapes and for families seeking justice after atrocities such as Hillsborough.

The Bill would create a permission stage in court where claimants must show they have suffered significant damage before their case can go ahead, to reduce “trivial” cases.

It would also seek to restrict the circumstances in which foreign-born people convicted of crimes are able to argue their right to family life trumps public safety in a bid to prevent their removal from the UK.

They would have to prove that their child would come to overwhelming and unavoidable harm if they were deported under the plans, which need the approval of parliament.

Mr Raab, who is also justice secretary, said: “The Bill of Rights will strengthen our UK tradition of freedom whilst injecting a healthy dose of common sense into the system. These reforms will reinforce freedom of speech, enable us to deport more foreign offenders and better protect the public from dangerous criminals.”

He stepped back from demands from some Conservative MPs to pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Bill would also seek to protect government plans to increase the use of separation centres for extremists from legal challenges based on the right to socialise.

The Ministry of Justice also says it would boost press freedom by introducing a stronger test for courts to consider before ordering journalists to disclose their sources.

PLANS: Dominic Raab is introducing the proposed legislation to parliament today.