Britain might leave ECHR, says Raab
Britain would consider leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if Strasbourg judges block plans to crack down on illegal migration, Dominic Raab has warned. The Justice Secretary said that while it was committed to staying within the ECHR, the Government could not “rule out” the possibility of pulling out and that it would depend on the response to new legislation effectively barring migrants who arrive illegally from claiming asylum in the UK.
BRITAIN is prepared to consider leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if Strasbourg judges block the Government’s plans to crack down on illegal migration, Dominic Raab has warned.
The Justice Secretary said the Government was committed to staying within the ECHR and would “strive every sinew” to remain within it but could not “rule out for ever and a day the possibility that we might need to revisit our membership”.
He told the House of Lords justice committee that this would, however, depend on the “responsiveness” of the ECHR to Britain’s new legislation effectively barring migrants who arrive illegally from claiming asylum in the UK. Ministers believe the legislation complies with the ECHR but have acknowledged the novel approach “pushes the boundaries of international law” and has a more than 50 per cent chance of breaching the UK’S obligations under the ECHR.
Ministers are preparing to take on the ECHR over the use of interim injunctions, such as the one that blocked the first deportation flight to Rwanda last June and has prevented any removals until all UK courts have ruled on the legality of the policy.
The legislation includes a “marker” clause allowing the Government to rewrite the rules so it could ignore the injunctions, known as Rule 39s, if negotiations with the Strasbourg court fail to secure reforms to answer Britain’s concerns about them.
Mr Raab told the committee: “We are committed to staying within the ECHR but we’ve said if asked that we could not rule out for ever and a day that we would have to revisit that position.
“But that would depend on the responsiveness of the Strasbourg court to the vital issues that we are trying to pursue in this country, including stopping the small boats.”
Mr Raab said he had already met with Strasbourg judges to discuss UK concerns over interim injunctions. A single unnamed judge in a late night sitting last summer blocked the first deportation flight to Rwanda until the entire policy had been tested in the UK courts. It is currently before the Appeal Court.
Tory MPS are preparing to lay amendments to the illegal migration bill that would toughen the approach to the ECHR so that the Government could ignore interim injunctions and even wider rulings.