Winston Churchill would be aghast at power of meddling Euro ‘activist’ judges – we MUST ditch them
THE meddling European Court is beyond redemption and so Britain MUST leave, a future Tory leadership hopeful has declared.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick today urged Rishi Sunak to make an election pledge to leave Strasbourg’s jurisdiction to stand any hope of closing the gap on Labour.
It is the first time Mr Jenrick - a standard-bearer for the Tory right - has explicitly called for the European Court of Human Rights to be on the ballot.
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He joins a growing number of Conservative MPs demanding Britain ends its 71-year membership of the Court over fears it is thwarting efforts to stop small boats.
Mr Sunak has vowed to leave if necessary to tackle illegal migration, but has stopped short of an immediate commitment to cut ties.
And Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron only yesterday stressed the need for reform to curb “overreach” by judges.
But dismissing such attempts as doomed, Mr Jenrick said: “I dont think it's possible to reform the ECHR. I think that would be doomed to fail.
“Like David Cameron's attempt to renegotiate our relationship with the EU. The question we've got to ask ourselves is does staying in ECHR make us safer?
What is the ECHR and why do people want to leave?
What is the European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights has jurisdiction in the 46 countries that are subscribed to the European Convention of Human Rights.
Based in Strasbourg, its judges rule on possible breaches of the 16 Articles that make up the Convention.
It emerged from the Second World War and has been in place since 1953 where Britain was a founding member.
The court is entirely separate from the European Union meaning the UK is still bound by its rulings.
Large sections of the Convention are enshrined in UK law via the 1998 Human Rights Act.
Why do critics want to leave it?
In recent years there have been growing calls to leave the ECHR, which critics accuse of becoming increasingly political.
This culminated in 2022, when an anonymous judge ordered the British government to abort its first Rwanda flight while the plane was on the runway.
Fears of overreach also boiled over last week when Strasbourg ruled against the Swiss Government for not doing enough to stop climate change.
Proponents of the ECHR say leaving would put Britain in the same club as Russia and Belarus as the continent’s only non-members.
But critics like Liz Truss hit back that many countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia have good human rights without needing a third party court.
What has Rishi Sunak said?
Rishi Sunak has said he would be prepared to quit the ECHR if that is what it takes to stop the boats.
He told our Never Mind The Ballots show: “I believe that border security and controlling illegal migration is more important than our membership of any foreign court.”
Separately, the Rwanda Bill gives ministers the powers to ignore the so-called “Pyjama Injunctions” which lets judges cast down eleventh-hour vetos in the dead of night.
“Does it make the country more prosperous? Does it increase our influence in the world?
“And I think the answer to all those questions is no. This is a treaty or convention that has been bent out of shape out of all recognition to the original proponent.
“Winston Churchill would be aghast at what's happened to it. It is viewed by its activist judges as a living instrument and you see your issues whether its security, borders or now Net Zero. Judges acting as politicians.
“This is bad for democracy. It's not in the interest of the British public, and I think it's time for us to leave.”
Anger towards the ECHR flared further last week when its judges ruled against Switzerland for not doing enough to stop climate change.
British Ministers including Lord Cameron condemned the move to weigh in on domestic politics.
Mr Jenrick resigned from the Cabinet last year after Mr Sunak rejected his proposals to toughen up the Rwanda Bill.
He had wanted to automatically throw out all ECHR injunctions preventing flights taking off, after an anonymous Strasbourg judge blocked the initial plane to Kigali in 2022.
He added: "Not everyone has seen the things that I've seen as a minister but if you had seen them, if you've seen terrorists, who security services are struggling to monitor and survey as a result of the ECHR...
"If you've seen dangerous criminals, foreign national offenders we can't remove from this country because of the ECHR...
"And if you've seen a policy like Rwanda, delayed and frustrated because of activist judges in Strasburg, then I think you do inexorably come to the same conclusion."
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The PM’s Rwanda Bill is finally set to pass through Parliament today if peers cave and pave the way for King Charles to sign it into law this week.
Downing Street remains confident that the first illegal migrants will be deported to the east African nation by the end of spring.
When will Rwanda flights take off?
What is the Rwanda plan?
Under the plan, anyone who arrives in Britain illegally will be deported to Rwanda, a country in eastern Africa.
The government believes the threat of being removed to Rwanda will deter migrants from making the dangerous Channel crossing in small boats.
Once in Rwanda, their asylum claims will be processed but there is no route back to the UK, save for some exceptional circumstances such as individual safety concerns. Britain will pay for migrants to start a new life in Rwanda.
What’s the hold up?
First announced by Boris Johnson in 2022, the scheme has been bogged down by relentless legal challenges.
The first flight was due to take off in summer 2022, but was blocked on the runway at the last minute by a European Court order.
Since then the legality of the plan has been contested in the courts, culminating in a Supreme Court judgement in November last year which said Rwanda was unsafe for asylum seekers.
What is Sunak doing?
To salvage the Rwanda plan from the Supreme Court’s scathing ruling, Rishi Sunak announced a two-pronged workaround.
First, he would sign a new treaty with Rwanda to beef up protections for asylum seekers that will be enshrined in law.
Second, he would introduce new legislation that would declare Rwanda a safe country.
It would mean courts, police and officials would have to treat it as safe unless there is a risk of individual and irreparable harm.
How long will that take?
The legislation has cleared the Commons but is now being held up in the House of Lords.
Rishi Sunak does not have a majority in the Lords, and peers are far more hostile to the plan.
They will likely send it back to the Commons with amendments watering down the scheme.
Such changes would be unconscionable to MPs who would strip out the measures and send it back.
This “ping-pong” will continue until either side - usually the unelected Lords - gives in and the Bill passes.
When will flights take off?
Mr Sunak wants to get the first flights sent to Rwanda by the spring.
But potential hurdles include more court battles launched by individual migrants either in UK courts or the European Court of Human Rights.
Mr Sunak has vowed to ignore any more orders by Strasbourg judges to ground planes, although individual appeals in domestic courts could prove tricky.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will scrap the scheme if he is elected PM, even if it is working