Prime Minister David Cameron has today revealed that he is ready to end the right of European courts to interfere with British justice by indicating his intentions for the UK to pull out of the European Convention of Human Rights. Following this, in a massive shake up of immigration law, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that the Immigration Bill soon to be published will make it easier for the government to deport people.
Theresa May: ‘Deport first, and hear the appeal later’
In a speech at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, Home Secretary Theresa May stated that the current immigration system was “like a never ending game of snakes and ladders with almost 70,000 appeals heard every year.” Theresa May explained that last year, human rights were cited in almost 10,000 immigration case appeals.
Theresa May now intends to slash the number of grounds on which migrants can lodge an appeal from the current 17 to just 4. Currently, a right of appeal is expected to exist only where the decision is said to be ‘complex and fact-specific.’
Further, Theresa May announced that the appeal of thousands facing deportation can only be heard after they have been put on a plane home unless they face “a risk of irreversible harm.” This potentially means that more than 30,000 illegal migrants, foreign criminals and rejected asylum seekers would be denied the right of appeal.
Conservative Party Manifesto: Human Rights Act 1998 to be scrapped
David Cameron has insisted that should the Tories win at the 2015 elections, the Tory government would “scrap Labour’s Human Rights Act” and he insisted that “with legal rights go legal responsibilities.”
The ECHR has been invoked by many people fighting against deportation from the UK and in particular people have argued that its provisions mean they are entitled to various rights, including the right to a family life (Article 8).
Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling is expected to confirm that the Tories are committed to repealing the Human Rights Act and replacing it with a British bill of rights.
To read the full text of Theresa May’s speech, click here to visit the Conservative Party’s website.