Human rights reform urged on Cameron

Prime Minister David Cameron is facing calls from senior Tories to withdraw Britain from the European Convention of Human Rights unless he can secure fundamental reform of the system.

By The Newsroom

Published 23rd Jan 2012, 10:12 BST

He is expected to press the case for reform when he travels this week to Strasbourg, the home of the European Court of Human Rights which is responsible for enforcing the convention.

His visit comes amid anger among Tories at the court’s ruling that Britain could not deport the radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada to stand trial on terrorism charges in his native Jordan.

Martin Callanan, the leader of the Conservative MEPs in the European Parliament, said that if Mr Cameron was unable to secure changes in the Council of Europe, which oversees the court, Britain should withdraw.

“I hope that he will be able to get some reforms.

“The trouble is that a series of increasingly more ludicrous judgments by the Court of Human Rights is bringing the whole concept of human rights into disrepute. It is becoming ridiculous,” he told the BBC yesterday.