Sir Keir Starmer will today send his top legal adviser to cosy up to European human rights chiefs and reassure them Britain is committed to the bloc’s controversial treaty.
The PM asked Attorney General Lord Hermer to travel to a summit in Moldova and prioritise talks over the future of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The ECHR’s 46 members are expected to sign a declaration aimed at limiting the treaty’s power amid a growing rebellion.
It comes after 27 countries led by Denmark and Italy called for changes, which they hope will make it easier to boot out illegal migrants ‘abusing’ rights laws to avoid deportation.
While the UK is planning to sign it, Whitehall sources said Lord Hermer will be there to ensure Britain does not breach its ‘international obligations’.
In December – six months after Denmark and Italy initially sparked calls for changes – Sir Keir jumped on the bandwagon by saying the ECHR needed modernising so nations could protect their borders and see off the rise of Right-wing parties.
But both the Tories and Reform say this does not go far enough because the ECHR is not interested in meaningful reform or rewriting the treaty.
And Lord Hermer’s attendance today sparked fresh fears last night that whatever is agreed it will be business as usual.
Lord Hermer has a background as a human rights lawyer and his previous clients have included former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and 9/11 terror attack plotter Mustafa al-Hawsawi
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is where the European Convention on Human Rights is administered
Sir Keir Starmer has previously called for the ECHR to be modernised but has stopped short of calling for the UK to leave
The Attorney General, whose previous clients have included former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and 9/11 terror attack plotter Mustafa al-Hawsawi, will ensure the rights of illegal arrivals are protected and help reassure European leaders that Britain is committed to the treaty. He will accompany Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
Because of his background as a human rights lawyer, Lord Hermer has previously been accused of having a ‘maximalist’ and ‘activist’ approach to human rights which favours Britain’s foes.
But allies point out he has also represented British Armed Forces staff, Veterans and worked on Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine.
Robert Jenrick, a former Tory immigration minister who defected to Reform, said: ‘Even in his dying days, Starmer is still trying to prop up broken human rights conventions.
‘Attempts to reform the ECHR are as doomed as David Cameron’s attempt to reform the EU.
‘It’s either leave or remain. The only way to secure our borders and deport the thousands of foreign criminals in our country is to quit and make these decisions in our own Parliament.’
Michael Ellis, a former Tory Attorney General, added: ‘This is just window dressing and will not make any difference.
‘Instead of recognising that the ECHR has helped push Europe towards disastrous uncontrolled immigration, Sir Keir Starmer shows again how out of touch he is.
‘The only hope of bringing UK immigration under control is to leave the ECHR.’
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Should Britain put human rights commitments above controlling its borders and stopping illegal migration?
Robert Jenrick, a former Tory immigration minister who defected to Reform, said the ‘only way to secure our borders and deport the thousands of foreign criminals in our country is to quit’ the ECHR
Ahead of today’s summit in the Moldovan capital Chisinău, Council of Europe boss Alain Berset claimed Britain would be like Russia if it ever left the ECHR
It comes after the number of small boat Channel migrant arrivals last week surged past 200,000 since records began eight years ago. However, just 7,612 have been removed.
Critics say arrivals often launch spurious human rights claims to avoid deportation.
It is understood today’s (FRI) summit of members of the Council of Europe (CoE), the guardian of the ECHR and a separate organisation to the European Union which the UK remains a member of, will not result in the treaty’s text being changed.
The declaration will instead aim to restrict the ECHR’s Article 8, which protects the right to family life, and Article 3, the ban on inhumane treatment.
The 27 countries which led calls for an overhaul want the articles ‘constrained to the most serious issues’ so that nations can take ‘proportionate’ moves to deport illegals and foreign criminals.
But critics point out that getting all 46 members to agree on the same wording is difficult and that whatever deal is struck will likely be vague and make little difference.
Germany and France, which carry a lot of clout, were not among the 27 countries calling for reform.
Ahead of today’s summit in the Moldovan capital Chisinău, Council of Europe boss Alain Berset claimed Britain would be like Russia if it quits the ECHR.
Speaking to the Politico website after talks with Sir Keir in Downing Street last week, he said: ‘It is absolutely possible to leave the convention. Your decision.
‘But what would it mean? It would create a new group of European countries not members of the Council of Europe and not implementing the Convention: Russia, Belarus and the UK. That would be the consequence.’
