Britain could leave European Convention on Human Rights

David Cameron completed a sharp U-turn yesterday by threatening to quit the European Convention on Human Rights if Strasbourg does not agree to stop meddling.

The Prime Minister’s comments follow a week of confusion in the Tory ranks during which ministers had insisted that leaving the ECHR was ‘not on the table’.

The chaos dates back to October, when former Justice Secretary Chris Grayling first unveiled plans to scrap Labour’s Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights.

Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs he 'rules out absolutely nothing' in ensuring that British judges make decisions in British courts without being overruled by Strasbourg

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The new legislation would be worded in such a way as to give the UK supremacy over the European Court of Human Rights, which oversees the Convention.

At the time, Mr Grayling said the plan was backed with a threat to quit Strasbourg’s jurisdiction if it did not agree.

Last week’s Queen’s Speech contained a commitment to consult on a new law, stopping short of the Bill itself. There was no repeat of the threat to quit the Convention, and aides indicated it had been dropped. 

On Monday, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said of leaving the Convention: ‘That is not the proposal on the table.’

Yesterday, however, the Prime Minister changed the Government’s position back to Mr Grayling’s original plan in what was dubbed a ‘U-turn on a U-turn’.

Mr Cameron told MPs: ‘We’re very clear in what we want, which is British judges making decisions in British courts.

‘Our plans set out in our manifesto do not involve us leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. But if we can’t achieve what we need ... when we’ve got these foreign criminals committing offence after offence and we can’t send them home because of their right to a family life, that needs to change. I rule out absolutely nothing in getting that done.’

His comments delighted senior Tories such as Home Secretary Theresa May, who has argued in favour of quitting Strasbourg. 

But they also put him at odds with a band of backbenchers – including ex-Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell – who say that leaving the Convention will set the wrong example to the rest of the world.

There are fears that with Labour, the SNP and Lib Dems all opposed to scrapping the Human Rights Act, rebel Tories could send the Government crashing to defeat. 

Former Tory Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell told the PM that there is 'considerable concern' from all parties at the idea that 'Britain might withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights'

  The prospect that Britain could withdraw from the convention was raised by Mr Gove's predecessor as justice secretary, Chris Grayling, in a Conservative policy paper last year.

It said the rulings of the Strasbourg court should no longer be binding on the British courts and proposed leaving the convention altogether if the Government was unable to negotiate a looser relationship.

However the proposal that the UK should withdraw if ministers were unable to achieve a satisfactory outcome was not included in the party's general election manifesto.

Lord Falconer, Labour's shadow justice secretary, said: 'The Prime Minister raises yet again the spectre of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.

'Withdrawing from the Convention would do incredible damage to the UK's standing in the world and it is shocking that the government should dither over this issue.

'David Cameron and Michael Gove need to get their act together and tell us whether or not they intend to take us out of the Convention.

'What is clear is that if they suggest scrapping people's human rights protections, Labour will oppose them all the way.' 

By Matt Corley and James Slack

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3109540/Britain-leave-European-Convention-Human-Rights-way-kick-foreign-criminals-Cameron-vows.html#ixzz3cPCzlWIh