Foreign criminals should expect to be deported, minister says
Human rights law should not prevent foreign criminals from being deported, the justice secretary has said.In a speech Shabana Mahmood said that too often the law "protects those who break the rules", and the government was "clarifying" how such laws operate.She told a meeting of foreign ministers at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg that the UK was committed to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) but it needed to evolve to respond to new threats.Some Conservatives have argued the UK needs to leave the treaty altogether to take back control of the country's immigration system.
The ECHR, which was established in 1950, sets out the rights and freedoms people are entitled to in the 46 signatory countries and is a central part of UK human rights law.It is overseen by the Council of Europe, which is separate to the European Union but is made up of members including EU countries, the UK, Turkey and Ukraine.
Mahmood told the meeting she welcomed a "dialogue" about the ECHR's future. "Because our convention was never meant to be frozen in time," she said."It has been amended, extended and interpreted over decades – responding to new threats, new rights, and new realities. And we must consider doing so again."She said the UK was already "actively pursuing" how the convention is implemented domestically.The government has promised new legislation to clarify how Article 8 of the ECHR - which protects the right to family life - operates in relation to immigration rules and to ensure Parliament can control the country's borders.Mahmood cited cases where foreign criminals had invoked Article 8 to avoid deportation, saying this felt "out of step with common sense".She also gave the example of dangerous prisoners using the same article to attempt to block prison staff from putting them in separation centres.She added: "There is a growing perception – sometimes mistaken, sometimes grounded in reality – that human rights are no longer a shield for the vulnerable, but a tool for criminals to avoid responsibility."
The Conservatives have called for human rights law to be disapplied from all immigration cases and for the government to have the power to deport all foreign criminals.Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she believes the UK will likely need to leave the ECHR because it has become a "sword used to attack democratic decisions" and to halt attempts to remove illegal migrants and foreign criminals.She has launched a commission, which is due to report back in the autumn, to look at the potential consequences of leaving the treaty - an issue which has split the Tory Party. Other members of the Council of Europe have also called for the ECHR to be reformed to make it easier to deport foreign criminals. In an open letter in May, nine countries, led by Italy and Denmark, said there were concerning cases where the convention had "resulted in the protection of the wrong people". Earlier this month the head of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, told the Times newspaper he recognised the convention needed to "adapt" to a changing world.
Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments. It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Notting Hill carnival in danger without ‘urgent funding', says leaked letter
The future of the Notting Hill carnival could be in jeopardy without 'urgent funding' from the government, according to a leaked letter from its organisers. The carnival's chair, Ian Comfort, has written to the culture secretary to request public money, the BBC reported on Wednesday. It follows a review of the festival in west London, which began in 1966, identifying 'critical public safety concerns' that needed additional funding to address, the letter said. Comfort wrote that the money was 'essential to safeguarding the future and public safety of this iconic event', but did not state a figure. The independent safety review, whose findings and recommendations have not been made public, was commissioned by the carnival's organisers and paid for at a cost of £100,000 by the Greater London Authority (GLA), Kensington and Chelsea council and Westminster city council. In the leaked letter to Lisa Nandy, Comfort also referred to a separate report published in April by the London Assembly. He said the research highlighted the increasing strain placed on the Metropolitan police during large-scale public events. 'Limited resourcing has restricted the police service's ability to respond to growing operational pressures,' Comfort said in the letter. He went on to say that increased investment in stewarding and crowd management was 'now essential to allow the police to focus on their primary role of crime prevention and public protection'. Comfort added that a failure to secure immediate additional funding 'risks compromising public safety and jeopardising the future of the carnival'. The carnival chair said that although the GLA and the two councils had provided 'substantial support' for stewarding during past festivals, they could no longer 'meet the growing operational requirements identified in the review'. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion The Met police's assistant commissioner, Matt Twist, previously raised concerns of a 'mass casualty event' at the carnival due to crowd density. Giving evidence to the London Assembly police and crime committee last September, Twist said: 'While we acknowledge that crime often gets the headlines, the thing that worries me most is the crowd density and the potential for a mass casualty event.' The carnival, second only to Brazil's Rio Carnival in size, attracts about 2 million people over the August bank holiday weekend. This year's event is scheduled to take place on 24 and 25 August. The Met had about 7,000 officers on duty for last year's festivities, drawn from local policing teams and specialist units. The organisers of Notting Hill carnival have been contacted for comment.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Should abortion have been decriminalised?
While women will no longer be prosecuted for aborting their pregnancies at any point up to birth, an exclusive Telegraph poll reveals that 95 per cent of more than 11,000 respondents are against this decision. MPs voted with a majority of 242 to decriminalise seeking an abortion at any stage of gestation for any reason, removing the threat of women being investigated or arrested for seeking termination. Telegraph readers' reasons against the amendment ranged from a belief that life begins at conception to concerns over late-term abortions and the contrast with ongoing restrictions on assisted dying. 'This law has legalised murder' In a world in which access to birth control is readily available and many who want to be parents are unable to have children, some readers feel strongly that abortion should not be a legal option at all. Giles Darling argues: 'Imagine how many people alive today could have been legally terminated if this abortion-up-until-birth policy had been the law in the past? A child with a congenital condition or an unwanted genetic trait could miss their chance to be an impactful future scientist or entrepreneur.' Rosemary Wells writes: 'A baby at full term or even six weeks before birth is capable of living outside the womb and is completely sentient. They're conscious and able to feel pain. This law has legalised murder. This is legalising the destruction of anyone who is inconvenient and unwanted.' Linda Richards, who says she never thought the amendment would be voted through, comments: 'If these women don't want the child, give it up for adoption.' Bernie Carolan, who wrote to his MP about the matter, says: 'I asked her to vote no, as medical professionals have publicly raised grave concerns about the procedures involved in late-term abortions. These are not abstract debates – it's a matter of life and human dignity.' ' After 22 weeks, it is absolutely not on' Though many readers do not oppose the concept of abortion, and the law does not change restrictions on when doctors can administer abortions, there is a shared sense that allowing mothers to terminate pregnancies up until full term is a step too far. Judith Gordon-Nichols says: 'Abortion can be appropriate if, for instance, a woman or girl is pregnant as a result of rape or if the baby would be very disabled, but otherwise, no. After 22 weeks, it is absolutely not on.' Sharing a similar sentiment, Nicola Bradley comments: 'I think this is disgraceful. I am pro-choice and think that every woman should have the right to a termination on demand, but only up to 16 weeks maximum. After that, it should only be available for medical or health reasons with proper controls and penalties.' Sheridan Cooper writes: 'There is no need for this. I'm pro-choice, but the cut-off point is there for a reason. Unless the mother's life is at risk, there should be no termination beyond 24 weeks.' 'It's a slippery slope to legal death at any age' The decision to decriminalise abortion has been made at a time when Parliament is also in an ongoing debate on the topic of assisted dying. Readers speculate that the change will set a precedent for any future ruling over assisted dying. Louis Degas points out: 'We allow mothers to kill their potentially very healthy unborn child, but we are still debating the right for terminally ill, sane adults to end their own lives. Something seems wrong.' On the other hand, Denise Crowe is concerned about the ease with which Parliament is allowing laws on lives to pass. 'Another totally wrong decision by members of Parliament,' she argues. 'Next, the assisted dying Bill will be passed, and then it will be a slippery slope to legal death at any age.'
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Bodies pulled from under rubble after Vladimir Putin bombs Kyiv killing 28 as EU chief says ‘fight or learn Russian'
TWELVE more bodies have been pulled from the rubble after the deadliest Russian strike on Kyiv this year. Vladimir Putin's overnight blitz on the Ukrainian capital yesterday killed 28 people and injured 134 - as an EU chief warned Europeans to "start learning Russian" unless they step up support for Ukraine. 5 5 5 On the night of Monday to Tuesday, Russia blasted 27 locations in Kyiv, with 440 drones and 32 missiles hammering the city for nine hours, according to Ukrainian officials. Buildings and critical infrastructure facilities were damaged. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it 'one of the most terrible strikes on Kyiv'. Zelensky said on Tuesday: 'In Kyiv, people are currently trying to get out of the rubble of an ordinary residential building. It is not clear how many there are. "The Russians destroyed an entire entrance.' Earlier reports confirmed 15 people dead, including a 62-year-old American citizen. One missile struck a nine-storey apartment block in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district - demolishing a whole section of the building. Six bodies were pulled from the debris on Wednesday afternoon. The updated death toll has risen to 28, as of the latest update on Wednesday afternoon, but people are still missing, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Spokesperson Svitlana Vodolaha said: "We don't have exact information. The city authorities said some people haven't been in contact. We know that 35 apartments have been destroyed. The search operation is still ongoing." 5 Russia bombards Kyiv with deadliest strike in months with 14 killed as NATO warplanes scrambled on the border Overnight attacks also struck the Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions. Blasts at the Black Sea port of Odesa killed 2 people and injured 17. Ukraine marked a day of mourning on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the European Commission announced on Tuesday its plans to stop all Russian fossil fuel imports by the end of 2027. Regardless of developments in the Russia-Ukraine war, fuel imports - including gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) - will be phrased out. But Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, says the EU is not doing enough to stop the war - which has raged for over three years. Speaking in the European Parliament, she warned of Russia's "direct threat to the European Union". "Last year, Russia spent more on defence than the European Union combined," Kallas said, as reported by The Guardian. "This year, Russia is spending more on defence than its own healthcare, education and social policy combined. This is a long-term plan for a long-term aggression," she said. Kallas urged European officials: "We have to do more more for Ukraine, for our own security too. "To quote my friend NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte: if we don't help Ukraine further, we should all start learning Russian. 'The stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield today, the stronger they will be around the negotiation table when Russia finally is ready to talk.' It comes as Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv was bombarded overnight with 48 kamikaze drones, missiles and guided bombs, just over a week ago. The assault killed three people and injured 21. 5
