Starmer urges Europe’s leaders to curb ECHR to halt rise of far right

Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to urgently curb joint human rights laws so that member states can take tougher action to protect their borders and see off the rise of the populist right across the continent.Before a crucial European summit on Wednesday, the prime minister urged fellow members to “go further” in modernising the interpretation of the European convention on human rights (ECHR) to prevent asylum seekers using it to avoid deportation.But Labour has been condemned for calling for changes, with human rights campaigners, Labour peers and some MPs arguing they could open the door to countries abandoning some of the world’s most vulnerable people.Critics of the government’s asylum changes also argue that the prime minister should not be diluting protections that pander to the right, amid deepening concerns from charities that its rhetoric could demonise refugees.On the eve of the Council of Europe summit in Strasbourg, the actors Michael Palin, Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley were among 21 well-known figures calling on Starmer to drop plans to weaken human rights law and instead “take a principled stand” for torture victims.Under sweeping changes announced last month, the government said it wanted to introduce measures to stop asylum seekers using their rights in the ECHR to a family life to avoid deportation. The Conservatives and Reform UK have called for withdrawal from the convention altogether.But writing for the Guardian, the prime minister said that updating the interpretation of the convention was urgently required to confront the challenges posed by mass migration – and far-right forces that sought to divide mainstream opinion across Europe.“The best way of fighting against the forces of hate and division, is to show that mainstream, progressive politics can fix this problem,” he wrote in a joint article with the Danish leader, Mette Frederiksen.“Listening to legitimate concerns and acting on them is what our politics is about. That’s not empty populism, it’s democracy. We are determined to show that our societies can act with compassion while upholding law and order, and fairness.”The two leaders called on European allies to go further in tackling the shared challenge of migration by modernising the ECHR to reflect the challenges of the 21st century.“Europe has faced big tests before and we have overcome them by acting together. Now we must do so again. Otherwise, the forces that seek to divide us will grow stronger.“So our message is this: as responsible, progressive governments we will deliver the change that people are crying out for. We will control our borders to protect our democracies – and make our nations stronger than ever in the years to come.”Starmer’s government will be represented at the Strasbourg meeting by David Lammy (left). Photograph: Thomas Krych/Zuma Press Wire/ShutterstockThe UK has sought to emulate Denmark’s hardline asylum model. Last year, the number of people being granted asylum in the country was the lowest in 40 years, excluding 2020 which was during the Covid pandemic.The government, which will be represented at the Strasbourg meeting by David Lammy, the justice secretary, and Richard Hermer, the attorney general, is understood to be considering all options to update the implementation of the ECHR.The proposed political declaration resulting from the summit would carry significant political weight and, if it garnered enough signatories, could directly influence how the European court of human rights interprets and applies ECHR rights.The government has already said it will legislate to clarify how article 8, the right to a private life, is interpreted in the domestic courts in regard to immigration rules.Lammy is expected to argue on Wednesday that the ECHR could also be reinterpreted to limit the scope of rights under article 3, which prohibits torture and “degrading treatment”.This could, for example, include higher thresholds for prison conditions or access to healthcare abroad where it currently prevents extradition or deportation from the UK.The deputy prime minister will reassert the UK’s commitment to the ECHR, saying that pulling out would be a “fake solution” that would undermine every international agreement on national and border security.At the summit, he is expected to say: “We must strike a careful balance between individual rights and the public’s interest, otherwise we risk a loss of confidence in the convention, and in human rights themselves.“The definition of ‘family life’ can’t be stretched to prevent the removal of people with no right to remain in the country … The threshold of ‘inhuman and degrading treatment’ must be constrained to the most serious issues.“States must be able to take proportionate decisions on the removal of foreign criminals, so that we renew the convention’s democratic foundation.”The sweeping changes to the UK asylum system came against the backdrop of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK attracting support because of the failure of successive governments to stop unauthorised small boat crossings in the Channel and unease about the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.They include measures such as forcing people with refugee status to return to their home country if it becomes safe, making people who arrive illegally wait 20 years before they can apply for permanent settlement, and revoking the statutory legal duty to provide asylum-seeker support, including housing and weekly allowances.Ministers say the government will introduce new safe and legal routes to the UK as a way to reduce the number of dangerous journeys in small boats across the Channel, although these routes will be capped.Some Labour MPs, charities and legal experts have warned that if a country such as the UK waters down the application of article 3, then less scrupulous nations could follow suit, with horrific implications.Veronika Fikfak, a professor of international law at University College London, said a change to the anti-torture provisions within the ECHR “touches the very core” of the convention.“Prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment is an absolute right. It allows for no balancing. There is no margin of appreciation for states, nor any deference to them,” she said.Lammy will meet ministers from 45 other countries to discuss possible changes at the meeting. Nine member states, including Italy and Denmark, signed a letter in May calling for the scope of the ECHR to be limited.