David Cameron is under pressure to deliver on a promise to reform the Human Rights Act following the disclosure that the foreign-born murderer of Philip Lawrence has been arrested on suspicion of another violent attack.
I will be joining colleagues in calling for reform of the Human Rights Act to deliver a classical English Bill of Rights. I have great respect for my colleague Dominic Raab on these issues (I recommend his book). As the Telegraph article reports:
Dominic Raab, MP for Esher & Walton, who helped to draw up the plans for a Bill of Rights, said: “Britain’s inability to deport criminals because it disrupts their family ties is a direct result of the Human Rights Act, not the European Convention [on Human Rights]. This case highlights the difference a Bill of Rights can make, and why it should be a priority. It must not be kicked into the long grass.”
He’s quite right: we need a good quality Bill of Rights based on the classical English legal tradition of “freedom from”. And soon.
Let’s hope the Deputy Prime Minister’s Freedom Bill is a work of sublime genius…