Tories will bar courts from deciding human rights abuses in ‘dangerous seizure of power’

Boris Johnson has been accused of “rifling through” Brits’ human rights as he plans to prevent some human rights cases before the High Court – and to completely override European judges to send asylum seekers to Rwanda

Boris Johnson has been accused tonight of “rifling through” Brits’ human rights as he blocks fights against his government that are being heard in court.

Tory ministers will amend the law to prevent High Court judges from deciding some human rights cases, according to a Bill of Rights presented in Parliament on Wednesday.

They will also change the law to allow the UK to ignore some decisions made by European judges. These include the likes of last week’s declaration that saved asylum seekers from being deported to Rwanda.

Campaign group Liberty said the changes would be a “seizure of power”, while the Law Society warned they were a “setback for the UK judiciary”.

Lawyers warned they would “create an acceptable class of human rights abuses in the UK” – where violations cannot be challenged even though they are illegal.

The new law will make it harder for aggrieved Britons to take legal action against the government in human rights cases by introducing a new “permission tier”.

Before people can bring a full case to the High Court on human rights grounds, they must show they have suffered a “significant disadvantage”.

Separately, the bill will also say that the European Court of Human Rights “does not always have to be followed by UK courts”.

It comes after the ECtHR issued an interim statement halting Britain’s first deportation flight to Rwanda last week.

The government says the bill will prevent such interim results from being binding on the UK in the future and instead give the UK Supreme Court the final say.

The government insisted the changes would prevent “trivial human rights claims from wasting judges’ time and taxpayers’ money”.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said they would “inject a healthy dose of common sense”, adding: “These reforms will strengthen freedom of expression, allow us to deport more foreign criminals and better protect the public from dangerous criminals.”

But Liberty director Martha Spurrier said: “Let’s be clear: this law is a power grab by a government that doesn’t respect our rights.”

She said the law will “rumble through our rights” and make the government “untouchable”, adding: “From the families of Hillsborough victims to military veterans, people use the Human Rights Act every day to stand up for their rights and justice.” to get.

“Under the government’s plans, it will be much more difficult for people – including people with disabilities and survivors of violence against women and girls – to access justice.”

The President of the Law Society of England and Wales, I Stephanie Boyce, warned it showed a “disregard for the checks and balances that underpin the rule of law”.

She added: “The law will create an acceptable class of human rights abuses in the UK… It is a setback for the British judiciary.

“Authorities may begin to consider some violations acceptable because they can no longer be appealed … even though they are against the law.

“Overall, the bill would grant the state greater unfettered power over the people, power that would then belong to all future governments, regardless of their ideology.”

James Wilson, Deputy Director of Detention Action, said Tory ministers were trying to “rewrite the rules” a week after being humiliated by European judges.

He added: “Dominic Raab’s plans to undermine our rights to private and family life threaten us all.

“But especially the children who have been deprived of a parent by his government’s mass deportation policies.

“We insist that Dominic Raab allow Parliament a full and proper scrutiny of his dangerous plans before they can be written into our statute books.”

The law will also make it easier to deport foreign criminals with relatives in the UK, despite the right to family life.

They must demonstrate that a child or family member would suffer “overwhelming, unavoidable harm” if deported.

Meanwhile, the bill will seek to protect the government’s plans to use more segregation centers for extremists, despite legal challenges over the right to socialize.

The Justice Department also says it would strengthen press freedom by introducing a stricter test that courts must examine before ordering journalists to disclose their sources.

But Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Shadow Justice, said: “Labour is proud that Human Rights Bill gives millions access to justice, protects victims of crime and ensures our loved ones get the care they need.

“But this Conservative ‘Bill of Rights’ hoax will take away those rights, prevent people with health conditions from objecting to the no-resuscitation order they are given in hospital without their consent, and prevent women from calling the police to force to investigate cases of rape. and will stop victims of terrorist atrocities and major disasters like Hillsborough from seeking justice.

“This is a government more interested in starting struggles and sowing divisions with this fraudulent fundamental rights declaration than addressing the cost of living crisis.”