Wrangle looms on EU human rights laws

THERESA MAY is threatening a constitutional crisis with Scotland over plans for Britain to withdraw from the European Court on Human Rights.

The Prime Minister is said to be considering making plans to pull out of the ECHR a cornerstone of the Conservatives’ next General Election campaign in 2020.

Sources have claimed she has accepted proposals for a British Bill of Rights, which was originally proposed by David Cameron, but which will have to be put on hold while the UK Government deals with Brexit in the next two years or so.

However, it was also suggested Mrs May ultimately wants to go further than her predecessor by giving the UK Supreme Court the final say over how human rights laws are applied in the UK.

Joanna Cherry, QC, the SNP spokeswoman on justice and home affairs, said: “Human rights are a devolved matter and any plans to take Scotland out of the ECHR would require the consent of the Scottish Parliament.”

It comes as a fresh set of legal challenges asserting that the UK will remain within the single market and the European Economic Area after Brexit have been lodged at the High Court in London.

A group of four anonymous claimants have joined a judicial review of Government plans to leave the EU.

The new challenges issued yesterday will consolidate the case already initiated by the pro-single market organisation British Influence. IT is The Herald’s policy to correct errors as soon as we can and all corrections and clarifications will usually appear on this page.

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