European Convention on Human Rights: UK Membership Debate

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Department: Attorney General

European Convention on Human Rights: UK Membership

Kevin Foster Excerpts
Tuesday 26th April 2016

(8 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Kevin Foster Portrait Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)
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I am sure that the Attorney General shares my surprise at some of the comments we are hearing about the idea of Britain having a system similar to that in many other countries, namely domestic rights legislation overseen by a Supreme Court. That is what Germany does with its own basic law. Given what we have heard about how well the ECHR protects human rights, and given that Russia is signatory to it, will the Attorney General outline how it has been protecting those of people living in eastern Ukraine?

Jeremy Wright Portrait The Attorney General
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My hon. Friend makes a fair point. As I said earlier, it is no guarantee that a country will have a spotless human rights record if it is a signatory to the convention. We must be clear that we support the protection of human rights wherever in the world they may be abused, and the British Government will continue to take that position.