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Conservatives 'would curb human rights rulings' Tories 'would curb human rights rulings' from Europe
(about 2 hours later)
The Conservatives say they will stop British laws being overruled by human rights rulings from Strasbourg if they win the next general election. The Conservatives say plans to stop British laws being overruled by human rights rulings from Strasbourg are "viable and legal".
The party says it would also scrap the UK Human Rights Act and stop terrorists using the laws to fight deportation. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said if the Tories won the election, a new Bill of Rights would give UK courts and Parliament the "final say".
It says it would end "the ability of the courts to decide unilaterally to apply human rights to whole new areas of public life". There should be no "legal blank cheque to take human rights into areas where they have never applied", he said.
Civil rights group Liberty accused the Conservatives of "judge-bashing". Both Labour and the Lib Dems have criticised the plans.
Conservative Home Secretary Theresa May has long pledged to scrap the 1998 Human Rights Act, introduced under the Labour government, which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into British law. The Conservatives have long pledged to scrap the 1998 Human Rights Act, introduced under the Labour government, which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into British law.
'Common sense''Common sense'
On Friday, the Conservatives will say they want to restore "common sense" to human rights laws, stopping foreign criminals who pose a threat to the UK from using them to prevent deportation. If they form the next government, they plan to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights.
They say there has been too much "mission creep", with laws being used more widely than intended, and say they would stop British courts from having to take account of rulings from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. They have also said a future Conservative government would be prepared to exercise its right to withdraw from the European Convention if Parliament and the British courts could not get the "final say" over laws applying to the UK.
Instead, the UK's Supreme Court would be "the ultimate arbiter of human rights matters in the UK". Mr Grayling told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the Court had "moved a long way away" from the principles of the 1950 Convention, to which the UK was one of the original signatories.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: "We will always stand against real human rights abuses and political persecution. But these plans will make sure that we put Britain first and restore common sense to human rights in this country." He said human rights laws should apply in only the most serious cases and should be more clearly defined to stop courts applying them to "whole new areas of public life".
The Conservatives also say Strasbourg should not be able to require the UK to change British laws - there is a continuing dispute about Britain's blanket ban on prisoners' voting. Instead its judgements should be treated as "advisory". "I think the people of this country believe that... decisions on these things - such as whether prisoners should be sent to jail for the rest of their lives without the chance of release and whether prisoners should be given the vote... should be addressed in our courts and in our Parliament."
The party says human rights laws should apply in only the most serious cases and should be more clearly defined to stop courts applying them to "whole new areas of public life". Under the plans, Strasbourg would not be able to require the UK to change British laws, with its judgements being treated as "advisory" and the UK's Supreme Court being "the ultimate arbiter" on human rights matters.
It is pledging to stop them being used by foreigners who commit crimes in the UK, in order to remain in the country. Mr Grayling said: "We have taken strong legal advice on this. The attorney general has looked at our plans and agreed they are fine, viable and legal."
'Narrow base' 'Benchmarks'
The Conservatives say they will publish a draft British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities before Christmas - and will publish a strategy paper on Friday.The Conservatives say they will publish a draft British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities before Christmas - and will publish a strategy paper on Friday.
However, Tory MP and former attorney general Dominic Grieve said that in many cases there was a "mass misunderstanding" of what the European Court of Human Rights does.However, Tory MP and former attorney general Dominic Grieve said that in many cases there was a "mass misunderstanding" of what the European Court of Human Rights does.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that while some of the court's findings had been "mistaken" others had proved to be "benchmarks in improving human rights throughout Europe". He told the Today programme that while some of the court's findings had been "mistaken", others had proved to be "benchmarks in improving human rights throughout Europe".
"It is right to say that on a daily basis the court is producing decisions of great importance in improving human rights in Europe, which are inevitably ignored here because they tend to concern countries in Eastern Europe," he said."It is right to say that on a daily basis the court is producing decisions of great importance in improving human rights in Europe, which are inevitably ignored here because they tend to concern countries in Eastern Europe," he said.
"Actually this paper gives the impression of a retrenchment down to a very narrow base indeed," Mr Grieve added. Mr Grayling said he disagreed with Mr Grieve over the issue.
'Take account'
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, told the BBC's Daily Politics the plans were "about judge-bashing".Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, told the BBC's Daily Politics the plans were "about judge-bashing".
"Time and time again I have heard the prime minister saying he feels physically sick at the judgements of 'unelected judges'," she said. She said: "Under the Human Rights Act, the Supreme Court only has to take account of rulings of the Strasbourg court."
She added: "Under the Human Rights Act the Supreme Court only has to take account of rulings of the Strasbourg court." BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said the Conservatives would be prepared to leave the European Convention on Human Rights altogether if that was considered necessary to curb the powers of the Strasbourg court.
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said the Conservatives would be prepared to leave the European Convention on Human Rights altogether - if that is what is necessary to curb the powers of the Strasbourg court. But he said the Conservatives could implement their plans only if they won an outright majority at the next election, as their Liberal Democrat coalition partners - and the Labour opposition - were against the move.
But he said the Conservatives could only implement their plans if they won an outright majority at the next election, as their Liberal Democrat coalition partners - and the Labour opposition - are against the move. 'Disaster'
Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan said the Human Rights Act was, to all extent and purposes, a British Bill of Rights.
"The truth is that our courts have been free to interpret rulings by the European Convention on Human Rights for 50 years - the Human Rights Act did nothing to change that fact," he said.
"The European Court of Human Rights does need reform, which is why Labour has called for Strasbourg to do more to improve the quality of its judges and apply 'the margin of appreciation', giving member states the wriggle room to interpret decisions appropriately.
"But leaving the ECHR, which the Tories appear to be proposing, would be a disaster for this country - putting Britain in the same bracket as Belarus, Europe's last remaining dictatorship."
And Lib Dem minister Simon Hughes said the "hard-won" rights should not be sacrificed for short-term political reasons.
"These plans make no sense - you can't protect the human rights of Brits and pull out of the system that protects them," he said.
"Europe's human rights laws were designed by British lawyers to reflect British values of justice, tolerance and decency."