I don't want to leave ECHR, said peer reviewing Tory support for convention

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6 days ago

Britain should remain in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the peer leading the Tories' review has previously said.
Lord Wolfson, the shadow attorney general, told the Lords in 2023 that he supported the UK 'being in the convention' even though he disagreed with some decisions from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
Speaking in a debate on Tory plans to enact their Rwanda deportation plans, he also warned that Parliament should not legislate in breach of its international law obligations unless there were 'absolutely compelling reasons' to do so.
His past comments have emerged as Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, appointed him to head a review into whether the UK should leave the ECHR and how to prevent lawyers 'subverting' government policy.
Mrs Badenoch is setting up a commission to investigate how a Tory government could prevent lawyers using human rights and other legislation to block government policy, not only on immigration but also in environmental and equality legislation.
Lord Wolfson, a former justice minister, made his comments in a debate on Rishi Sunak's illegal migration bill which included new powers for ministers to ignore ECtHR injunctions, one of which blocked the first deportation flight to Rwanda.
His past comments on ECHR membership have raised eyebrows among Tories. One commented: 'He is a brilliant lawyer but you wonder if Kemi should have chosen someone who was a bit more open-minded.'
In the Lords debate, Lord Wolfson said: 'I support our membership of the European Convention on Human Rights. I do not always agree with the decisions of the court – I do not always agree with the decisions of our domestic courts either – but that is a separate matter. I support us being in the convention.'
He also said that the UK ought to abide by international law obligations.
'I would expect Parliament not to legislate contrary to a treaty obligation unless there were absolutely compelling reasons to do so and, in those circumstances, to make that very clear. Otherwise, we should always be legislating consistently with our international law obligations,' he told the Lords.
It is understood Lord Wolfson believes the debate has moved on since 2023.
The Telegraph understands that irrespective of his views, his role as head of the review is to provide dispassionate advice on the impact of the ECHR on government policy, the legal consequences of leaving and how it could be done.
It will be for the leadership to then decide whether to leave or not.
A Tory source said: 'He is conducting a review of the legal impact of membership of the ECHR on government policy and providing to the leader and shadow cabinet a legal analysis of what being a member of the ECHR means and what would be the effect of leaving the ECHR in a legal sense.
'The political question of whether we should stay or leave is not for him or the commission. That's a question for the leader and shadow cabinet. They are the clients in this context, and he is their lawyer. They have asked him a series of questions that he is going to answer with his legal hat on. They can decide what they then do.'
Interviewed earlier this week about what the Tories' position was on the ECHR, Lord Wolfson told Joshua Rozenberg's podcast A Lawyer Talks: 'I can only say watch this space. But it's no secret to say that within the Conservative Party, there will be people who take different views on this issue.
'Within the Labour Party, there are people who take very different positions on this issue.'
However, he indicated that ministers should not comply with treaty obligations if that would mean ignoring laws made by Parliament.
He said ministers would always seek to comply with international law if they were able to do so.
But he added: 'A minister has to abide by an act of Parliament and it would be constitutionally improper, I would suggest, for the minister to say, 'I'm going to ignore what an act of Parliament says in order to comply with a treaty obligation'.'
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, told The Telegraph: 'The man leading this review into Britain's membership of the ECHR does not actually want to leave it.
'This tells us everything we need to know about how serious the Conservatives are about deporting illegal migrants and stopping the boats.
'They haven't changed one bit since their time in office.'
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