Bill of Rights

Lord Bach Excerpts

Monday 24th January 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord McNally]

The coalition agreement made it clear that this exercise would be a matter of building on the European Convention on Human Rights. That remains our intention.

[Lord Bach]

The Minister is well known and widely respected for his support for the Human Rights Act. Does he agree that the introduction of that Act by the previous Labour Government, supported by his party, represented a huge step forward for the liberty and freedom of the British people?

[Lord McNally]

My Lords, I most certainly do but, as has been said, the previous Government were taking a long, hard look at that legislation—and quite sensibly, because the Act is sometimes misrepresented and misreported. Anyone who believes in it, as I do, would also recognise that it does not have the national buy-in which I would like to see for a Human Rights Act. Our exercise will educate people and give them a greater understanding about what I referred to otherwise. It is not a Human Rights Act for villains. It is our Human Rights Act and the more we understand that, the better it will be.