News Beat
Fresh calls for Britain to quit ECHR after Euro court bosses push back against tougher immigration rules
EURO court bosses are pushing back against tougher immigration rules — sparking fresh calls for Britain to quit the ECHR.
Alain Berset, Council of Europe Secretary General, warned the UK not to “destroy” or “undermine” the system by seeking stronger powers to remove foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers.
He said the human rights court, which is run by his council, was being criticised too “brutally” and that rewriting its governing convention would require agreement from all 46 member states.
Mr Berset also played down complaints over blocked deportations, claiming the Strasbourg court had disagreed with Britain’s judges in only one case in the past decade.
He told Times Radio: “I’m not telling you that we are not ready to address migration issues.
“But it is not so easy to have changes in the direction we want.
“We need to have this discussion at the political level.”
His comments came as the UK joined a 27-nation bloc pushing to tighten Articles 3 and 8 — the loopholes often used to block removals on “inhuman treatment” or “family life” grounds.
In a statement, the countries said Euro judges must be banned from torpedoing Rwanda-style deals with safe third countries.
But a gathering of all 46 ECHR members this week agreed only to draw up a political declaration and hold more talks next year.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Reform of the ECHR is as doomed as reform of the EU.
“We don’t have the time to wait for Europe to get its act together.
“We need to leave the ECHR immediately.”
Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: “Some progress has been made this week, which demonstrates the shared consensus across Europe on the need for change.
“But as the PM has said, the ECHR needs to adapt.”
