Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood is set to deliver a strong warning today that the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is undermining the UK’s ability to deport foreign criminals.
Speaking in Strasbourg at a meeting of the Council of Europe, the body that oversees the ECHR , Mahmood will align Britain with a growing coalition of European Union nations calling for urgent reform of the convention.
In her speech to the Council’s committee of ministers, Mahmood will echo recent concerns raised by leaders of nine EU countries, including Poland’s Donald Tusk and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni. They have argued that European courts are interpreting the ECHR so broadly that it is shielding individuals who pose a threat to public safety.
According to these leaders, the current approach is placing too many limitations on national governments’ ability to remove serious offenders such as violent criminals and drug traffickers.
Mahmood will argue that reform is essential to maintain public confidence in the human rights framework. “If a foreign national commits a serious crime, they should expect to be removed from the country,” she is expected to say. Her remarks follow reports revealing numerous cases in which foreign criminals and illegal migrants have used Article 8 of the ECHR, the right to private and family life to avoid deportation from the UK.
The Government is preparing legislative changes to tighten how Article 8 is applied in UK courts. Labour officials claim that the exceptional circumstances test, which allows individuals to stay in the UK despite deportation orders, is currently being met far too easily. According to sources, around one-third of such cases now rely on these grounds.
Ministers are also working to toughen the public interest test that judges use to weigh deportation decisions against potential risks to public safety and national security. Mahmood is expected to emphasise that human rights protections must evolve alongside society, and that the Government’s reforms aim to prevent misuse of legal safeguards by those who have committed serious crimes.
“The ECHR is one of the great achievements of post-war politics. It has endured because it has evolved. Now, it must do so again,” she will say. However, Mahmood will also make clear that the UK has no intention of withdrawing from the convention, acknowledging that leaving it would harm the UK’s ability to negotiate immigration and security arrangements with its European partners.
Her remarks come just weeks after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch signalled that the UK might consider exiting the ECHR if reform remains out of reach, a position Labour firmly rejects.
Mahmood’s comments reflect Labour’s effort to balance a tougher stance on immigration and criminal justice with a commitment to international cooperation and human rights. The Justice Secretary will call on fellow Council of Europe member states to support reform, urging a collective response to the legal challenges posed by evolving threats to public order.
