Overview
- Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and Attorney General Lord Hermer are in Strasbourg to lobby ministers from across the Council of Europe for a political declaration that could influence how the European Court of Human Rights applies the convention.
- Keir Starmer and Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen set out the push in a joint op‑ed, arguing that updating human rights interpretation is needed to tighten border controls and blunt the appeal of the far right.
- The UK plans domestic legislation to narrow how Article 8’s right to family or private life is applied in immigration cases, with ministers also weighing a higher threshold for Article 3 claims that currently block removals.
- Lammy is expected to affirm the UK will remain within the convention while arguing that definitions of family life and inhuman or degrading treatment should not prevent proportionate deportations, including of foreign offenders.
- Human-rights groups and legal experts, along with a Freedom From Torture letter signed by 21 public figures, warn the plans would weaken core protections, stressing that Article 3’s ban on torture and ill‑treatment is absolute.