David Cameron risks row with civil liberties groups over push for Bill of Rights

By The Press Association18th May 2016News EnglandHuman Rights, Inequalities, News England

David Cameron will risk a major row with opposition MPs and civil liberties organisations by pushing ahead with plans for a new Bill of Rights.

The Government will publish proposals for a British Bill of Rights, arguing that it will restore “common sense” to human rights legislation.

But any move to scrap the Human Rights Act, which enshrined the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic law, will face fierce resistance in the Commons and the Lords.

A coalition of more than 130 campaigning organisations has already warned against any attempt to weaken human rights laws.

The groups, including Amnesty International, Friends Of The Earth, Refuge, the Muslim Council of Great Britain, and the Football Supporters’ Federation, said: “We believe in fundamental human rights and freedoms – shared values that protect every member of the human family and the society we seek to build together.

“Human rights underpin our democracy, hold governments to account and require that everyone’s dignity is equally respected.

“We pledge to oppose any government plans to repeal our Human Rights Act – in so doing we stand firm on guaranteeing universal human rights protections for generations to come.”

Home Secretary Theresa May, one of the Government’s strongest critics of the Human Rights Act, has suggested pulling out of the ECHR altogether.

The official document detailing the Queen’s Speech measures said the proposals in the Bill of Rights would be “based on those” set out in the ECHR “while also taking into account our common law tradition”.

The Bill of Rights would “better protect against abuse of the system and misuse of human rights laws”, the Government claimed.

The Conservative manifesto in the 2015 general election promised the British Bill of Rights would “break the formal link between British courts and the European Court of Human Rights”, making the UK Supreme Court “the ultimate arbiter of human rights matters”.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned against the Tory plans to scrap the Human Rights Act, potentially setting up a constitutional row over the measures.

The Westminster Government said revising the Human Rights Act “can only be done by the UK Parliament” but promised to “consult fully before bringing forward proposals”.

The father of Private Cheryl James warned against any move to scrap the Human Rights Act.

The 18-year-old Army recruit was found with a fatal head wound on November 27 1995 and an inquest verdict is expected to be delivered in June.

Des James said: “We spent years and years asking to see evidence about our daughter’s death – and were stonewalled over and over again. It was only the Human Rights Act that finally compelled the release of that evidence to us and, 20 years after Cheryl died, secured the wide-ranging inquest she deserved.

“The state has every interest in preventing light from being shone into dark corners. The Act allows ordinary people to challenge the power of the state. The fact that the establishment doesn’t like that very much simply shows that the Act is working.

“We can’t let politicians repeal this legislation that has proved so crucial for so many ordinary people.”

Children’s Society chief executive Matthew Reed said: “The new Bill of Rights must uphold and protect the rights of children provided by the Human Rights Act.

“Anything that weakens or endangers those rights would recklessly turn the clock back and leave poor and vulnerable children more exposed to abuse and neglect. The rights of all children, no matter where they are from, or who their parents are, must continue to be protected.”