This article titled “No appetite for scrapping Human Rights Act, says Amnesty” was written by Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent, for The Guardian on Sunday 8th November 2015 16.43 UTCJohn Fawcett has joined the firm as Partner
Only one in 10 people in Britain believe that scrapping the Human Rights Act should be a major government priority, according to an opinion poll conducted by Amnesty International.
The apparent lack of popular support has emerged amid claims that David Cameron’s proposed new bill of rights may allow judges to consider Commonwealth law judgments as legal precedents.
The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on Sunday about the latest speculation over the contents of its planned public consultation on reforming human rights, which has been repeatedly delayed.
Amnesty’s poll, released at the weekend, found that only 3% of British adults said it should be the most important priority for the government, with just 11% ranking repealing the act within their top three priorities.
According to a Sunday Times article, the proposals – which are being drawn up by the justice secretary, Michael Gove – will ensure that the UK remains a signatory to the European convention on human rights.
As well as giving rulings from Commonwealth judges additional significance, the story suggested that parliamentary sovereignty will be enshrined in UK law, soldiers will not be able to be sued for their actions on the battlefield and judges will be told they do not have to follow judgments from the European court of human rights in Strasbourg.
The new bill of rights, it is alleged, will be a reference for individual rights rather than a main “route to compensation”. Many of these elements have been discussed before.
Kate Allen, the director of Amnesty UK, said: “The government should abandon its ill-advised plans to repeal the Human Rights Act. There’s simply no appetite for their proposals among the British public.
“The British people clearly want the government to get on with their proper business of the day-to-day running of the country, and abandon these destructive plans.”
Last week, the former Labour interim leader Harriet Harman, now chair of parliament’s influential joint committee on human rights, wrote to Gove asking whether he could confirm that the government had officially ruled out withdrawing from the European convention on human rights and if it would “abide by the final judgment of the ECHR in any case to which they are parties”.
Harman said: “In the first six months, government proposals have gone from a bill in the Queen’s speech to ‘proposals’ to ‘a consultation’. The timescale has moved from the first 100 days to ’this autumn’ and then ’in a few months’ time’.
“There is no more clarity about the government’s plans than there was back in May: we have no indication as to whether the government intends to publish a white paper, draft clauses or indeed a draft bill for pre-legislative scrutiny. It’s essential that such a vital issue is widely scrutinised and debated – and not just by politicians and lawyers. Twelve weeks is not enough.”
Responding to the Sunday Times article, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “This is speculation. We will publish our proposals in due course.”
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