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| Human Rights Act defended by DPP | Human Rights Act defended by DPP |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Human Rights Act is not a "criminals' charter", the Director of Public Prosecutions has said. | The Human Rights Act is not a "criminals' charter", the Director of Public Prosecutions has said. |
| The rights enshrined in the act were "basic, fundamental, and so much part of our way of life that we take them for granted," Keir Starmer said. | The rights enshrined in the act were "basic, fundamental, and so much part of our way of life that we take them for granted," Keir Starmer said. |
| The law does protect the rights of victims of crime, he said in the public prosecution annual lecture in London. | The law does protect the rights of victims of crime, he said in the public prosecution annual lecture in London. |
| The Conservatives want to scrap the act, saying it puts the rights of criminals before those of communities. | The Conservatives want to scrap the act, saying it puts the rights of criminals before those of communities. |
| 'Common myths' | |
| The DPP says he wants to "lay bare the lie that suggests the Human Rights Act is a criminals' charter". | |
| He said: "Contrary to what appears to be a widely-held, but ill-informed, view, human rights do not magically appear when a suspect is stopped on the street; or is arrested; or is charged; or is prosecuted; or when they appear in court..." | He said: "Contrary to what appears to be a widely-held, but ill-informed, view, human rights do not magically appear when a suspect is stopped on the street; or is arrested; or is charged; or is prosecuted; or when they appear in court..." |
| He told the audience that the fundamental rights of a suspect such was the right to a fair trial were clear. | He told the audience that the fundamental rights of a suspect such was the right to a fair trial were clear. |
| "The rights of victims are more subtle, but no less fundamental for that," he said. | "The rights of victims are more subtle, but no less fundamental for that," he said. |
| Mr Starmer said the act ensured the state had mechanisms in place to protect people from crime. | Mr Starmer said the act ensured the state had mechanisms in place to protect people from crime. |
| It would be to this country's shame if we lost the clear and basic statement of our citizens' human rights provided by the Human Rights Act on the basis of a fundamentally flawed analysis Keir Starmer, DPP | It would be to this country's shame if we lost the clear and basic statement of our citizens' human rights provided by the Human Rights Act on the basis of a fundamentally flawed analysis Keir Starmer, DPP |
| "These are rights that spring from the Human Rights Act, not rights that somehow conflict with it. And, critically, they are now enforceable in court." | "These are rights that spring from the Human Rights Act, not rights that somehow conflict with it. And, critically, they are now enforceable in court." |
| And he countered criticism the system needed to be "rebalanced". | And he countered criticism the system needed to be "rebalanced". |
| "Such talk usually emerges after a particularly questionable decision which receives undue notoriety usually this has a thread back to the Human Rights Act of how a victim's rights have been trampled on by an almost Orwellian spectre of European-inspired legislation," he says. | "Such talk usually emerges after a particularly questionable decision which receives undue notoriety usually this has a thread back to the Human Rights Act of how a victim's rights have been trampled on by an almost Orwellian spectre of European-inspired legislation," he says. |
| "It would be to this country's shame if we lost the clear and basic statement of our citizens' human rights provided by the Human Rights Act on the basis of a fundamentally flawed analysis of their origin and relevance to our society." | "It would be to this country's shame if we lost the clear and basic statement of our citizens' human rights provided by the Human Rights Act on the basis of a fundamentally flawed analysis of their origin and relevance to our society." |
| The DPP says common myths about the Human Rights Act should be dispelled: | The DPP says common myths about the Human Rights Act should be dispelled: |
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| The Conservatives have said they will abolish the act if they are elected, replacing it with a British Bill of Rights which they say will "enable the UK to rebalance laws in favour of public protection." | The Conservatives have said they will abolish the act if they are elected, replacing it with a British Bill of Rights which they say will "enable the UK to rebalance laws in favour of public protection." |
| Shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve said: "The Human Rights Act is not the only way to implement human rights in Britain. | |
| "The Conservatives believe a Bill of Rights will deliver a better balance - and it is a matter for Parliament to decide." |