Oral Answers to Questions

Marion Fellows Excerpts

Tuesday 9th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

4. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on reforming the UK’s human rights framework.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

6. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on reforming the UK’s human rights framework.

[Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)]

17. What plans his Department has to reform the Human Rights Act 1998.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dominic Raab]

Yes.

[Marion Fellows]

Will the Secretary of State listen to calls from the campaign group Liberty, and commit himself to ending what it has described as a cynical use of violence against women and girls as justification for the planned HRA reforms, bearing in mind that the legislation has been instrumental in securing women’s rights?

[Dominic Raab]

As a trainee lawyer I worked at Liberty, and I have huge respect for the work that it does. In fact, back then I took a test case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg relating to gender discrimination. However, it is also right that we listen to the wider voices, and we have conducted the independent Human Rights Act review to consider all the issues from all the different angles. We are grateful to Sir Peter Gross for chairing that review and we will carefully consider its recommendations in the round.