Thank you to everyone who has contacted me about the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
I am pleased to confirm that it is not the Government’s policy to withdraw the UK from the ECHR. I agree with the words of the Prime Minister, who has said that doing so would be a profound mistake.
As you may be aware, on 29 October, Nigel Farage tabled a ten-minute rule motion to withdraw from the ECHR. I voted against this motion and was pleased to see it did not pass.
I believe the ECHR must evolve in order to restore public confidence in the rule of law. While the UK is resolutely committed to its membership of the ECHR, public trust is beginning to erode as at times the application of certain human rights can feel out of step with common sense. The values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, once widely assumed, now face distortion, doubt and even hostility.
I believe that there is a growing perception – sometimes mistaken but sometimes grounded in reality – that human rights are no longer a shield for the vulnerable, but a tool for criminals to avoid responsibility. I understand that people feel that the law too often protects those who break the rules, rather than those who follow them.
The Government is pursuing reforms at home and internationally, and the Prime Minister recently met with more than a dozen other ECHR members to discuss potential reform. The ECHR has evolved before, through new protocols, rights and interpretations to reflect changing times, while staying true to its purpose.
I believe that reforms can be introduced to deliver migration and criminal justice priorities without having to leave the ECHR. Its reform must be a shared political endeavour among its member states. It is one of the great international achievements of post-war politics and has endured because it has evolved. Now, I believe that it must do so again.
Thank you once again to everyone who raised this issue with me.