Kemi Badenoch will all-but vow to pull Britain OUT of ECHR to fix immigration system
TORY leader Kemi Badenoch will all-but vow to pull Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights to fix the country’s immigration system.
She will say she is “increasingly of the view we will need to leave” the treaty to impose strict migrant caps and shut down bogus asylum claims.
The ECHR was a major flashpoint in last year’s Tory leadership race, with her then-rival Robert Jenrick openly calling for Britain to quit the treaty.
Until now, Ms Badenoch had stopped short of backing a full exit, suggesting the UK would “probably” have to withdraw if blocked from doing “what is right”.
But in a major hardening of her stance, the Tory chief will accuse Strasbourg judges of “inventing new rights” and “directly overruling popular mandates”.
In a speech today, she will insist the UK must be free to control its borders, deport foreign criminals and put British citizens first – without being blocked by overseas courts.
To prepare for a potential exit, she has tasked Shadow Attorney General Lord Wolfson KC with leading a rapid legal review of all international treaties to test whether Britain is still able to govern itself.
The review will apply five “common-sense” tests covering deportation powers, protection for veterans, access to public services, sentencing and parole, and whether infrastructure can be built without endless legal obstruction from climate rulings.
Ms Badenoch will say: “If international treaties, including the European Convention block us and there is no realistic prospect of changing them then, we leave them.
“No hesitation. No apology.”
A final decision on quitting the ECHR will be announced at Tory Party Conference this autumn, with plans already being drawn up for how Britain could withdraw.
Her intervention comes amid growing anger over blocked deportations – with Nigel Farage‘s Reform UK already pledging to quit the ECHR altogether.
Meanwhile, the Labour Government has vowed to pass laws ordering courts to throw out ridiculous appeals to European laws by foreign offenders or illegal migrants.
Recent examples included an Albanian drug dealer who tried to fight deportation because his son disliked foreign chicken nuggets.