UK: Change European human rights laws interpretation to tackle small boats

European human rights rules cannot be “frozen in time”, Deputy Prime Minter David Lammy will tell ministers from across the continent as part of a top-level push to change the way the laws apply in migration cases.

Mr Lammy, who is also Justice Secretary, will tell counterparts in Strasbourg that the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) “must not stop” states tackling the problem of illegal migration.

His intervention comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen warned that interpretation of ECHR needed to change to show governments could get a grip on the problem and prevent voters turning to “the forces that seek to divide us”.

Labour’s poll ratings have plummeted since the general election, with the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK partly due to concerns about the impact of immigration – both legal and through small boat crossings of the English Channel.

The ECHR is a Council of Europe document and Mr Lammy will tell ministers from the 46-member organisation: “We must strike a careful balance between individual rights and the public’s interest, otherwise, we risk a loss of confidence in the convention, and in human rights themselves.”

The UK and Denmark are among a number of countries grappling with migration problems which are pushing for changes in the way the treaty is interpreted, notably in its Article 3 protection against inhuman or degrading treatment and the Article 8 right to a family life.

Both articles have been used to prevent people with no right to be in the UK being sent back to their home countries.

Mr Lammy will say: “The definition of ‘family life’ can’t be stretched to prevent the removal of people with no right to remain in the country.

“The threshold of ‘inhuman and degrading treatment’ must be constrained to the most serious issues.

“And states must be able to take proportionate decisions on the removal of foreign criminals, so that we renew the convention’s democratic foundation.”

Labour, unlike the Tories and Reform UK, are committed to remaining within the ECHR, which was drawn up in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Mr Lammy will say the convention “is a critical foundation of peace, stability, and security in Europe” but it “was never intended to be frozen in time… it has endured because it has evolved”.

The Deputy Prime Minister will say: “The interpretation of the convention must not stop states effectively tackling our shared migration and criminal justice challenges.”

In a Guardian column, the Prime Minister and Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen acknowledged the “current asylum framework was created for another era”, adding: “In a world with mass mobility, yesterday’s answers do not work. We will always protect those fleeing war and terror – but the world has changed and asylum systems must change with it.”

Sir Keir has adopted a series of hardline immigration measures, modelled on those spearheaded by Ms Frederiksen’s centre-left Danish government, in order to decrease the number of migrants crossing the English Channel.

“Migration must be orderly, managed and sustainable. Irregular routes should not be the go-to option – so we must dismantle the human smuggling networks that prey on desperation.

“Together, we are calling on our friends across Europe to go further in tackling these shared challenges,” the two leaders wrote.

Nations arguing for reform hope a political declaration signed by the gathered ministers in Strasbourg could carry enough weight to directly influence how the European Court of Human Rights interprets the agreement.

In a warning to other leaders, Sir Keir and Ms Frederiksen added: “Europe has faced big tests before and we have overcome them by acting together. Now we must do so again. Otherwise, the forces that seek to divide us will grow stronger.

“So our message is this: as responsible, progressive governments we will deliver the change that people are crying out for. We will control our borders to protect our democracies – and make our nations stronger than ever in the years to come.”

The Government is expected to bring forward homegrown legislation to change how the Article 8 right to family life is interpreted in UK courts, and is also considering examining the threshold for Article 3 rights.

Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights programme director, said: “There is a dreadful irony in our Justice Secretary working with his counterparts to remove or reduce rights on the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“It shows how far we have drifted from the moral resolve of the last century, when our grandparents determined that the fact we are all born free and equal must be protected in law.”

Elsewhere, French right-wing leader Jordan Bardella told the Daily Telegraph newspaper he would rewrite French border policy to allow British patrol boats to push back migrant dinghies into France’s waters, if he led the country.

The National Rally leader and French MEP is currently leading in opinion polls to win the first round of France’s next presidential elections, expected in 2027.