UK government under pressure to get tough on illegal immigration

19/6/2025 6:12

Britain called on Wednesday

for reform of the European Convention on Human Rights, amid

growing domestic criticism that it allows a foreign-based court

to meddle in sensitive areas of policy such as immigration and

deportation rulings.



The convention, which dates back more than 70 years and aims

to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe, must

"evolve" to reflect changing political realities, justice

minister Shabana Mahmood said.



Britain's Labour government has criticised the way the

convention is interpreted in immigration cases, where its

provisions have been used to try to prevent the deportation of

migrants - some of whom have been convicted of serious crimes.



"It damages the public perception of human rights

altogether," Mahmood told a meeting of the Committee of

Ministers, the decision-making arm of the Council of Europe,

which oversees implementation of the convention.



The convention applies to the 46 member states of the

Council of Europe and can be enforced by binding rulings from

the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), based in the French

city of Strasbourg.



While Britain has left the European Union, it remains a

member of the Council of Europe and of the ECHR.



Labour has already promised to clarify how the convention

should be interpreted by domestic judges, but Mahmood used her

speech to urge wider reform of the human rights framework.



"The European Convention on Human Rights is one of the great

achievements of post-war politics. It has endured because it has

evolved. Now, it must do so again," she said.



The Council of Europe declined to comment on Mahmood's

remarks.







OTHERS ALSO SEEKING REFORM



Britain is not alone in seeking reform.



Nine European countries, spearheaded by Italy and Denmark,

urged the Council last month to ease the process of expelling

foreign criminals.



Secretary General Alain Berset, the head of the Council,

criticised that initiative, saying on May 24: "The court must

not be weaponised — neither against governments, nor by them."



Britain's nearly one-year-old Labour government has seen its

popularity slide partly due to public concerns over immigration

and needs to show it can deport foreign criminals and migrants

who have arrived illegally.



Labour is committed to remaining in the convention but Nigel

Farage's Reform UK, a right-wing party now topping national

opinion polls, has said it would immediately withdraw if it won

power.



The Conservative Party, the biggest opposition party in

parliament, has said it is reviewing its policy on Britain's

continued membership.