Now the EU wants to join the ECHR - and Brexiteers want out

Leading Brexiteers have called for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights with the EU pushing ahead with plans to sign-up. The set of rights – which is widely blamed for frustrating efforts to deport foreign criminals and people with no right to live in the UK – is enforced by the European Court of Justice.

The is not a European Union institution and there are fears the EU will gain influence over human rights laws “by the back door”. Brexiteers say Brussels’s determination to sign-up to the Convention is also a sign of the EU’s intent to become a nation state in its own right.

Former Brexit minister David Jones said: “The possibility of EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights is deeply troubling. The Convention was designed for sovereign states, not supranational bodies. Allowing Brussels to join risks distorting the Convention’s role and expanding EU influence over human rights law by the back door.

“It would erode national sovereignty, by giving unelected EU institutions a say in matters that should remain the province of democratic nation states.”

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith added: “We should make it clear we intend to withdraw from the ECHR because it makes governing our country and stopping illegal migrants impossible. Others are saying the same now in the EU.”

The European Commission states that joining the ECHR is a “priority” but some Brexiteers doubt that it will join up.

Former Leader of the Commons Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg does not expect the EU will accept the “jurisdiction of a higher court”.

He said: “I do not think that this will change and I think it helps make the case for the UK to leave the ECHR because, if the EU won’t accept a higher court, why should we?”

Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope said: “The EU is under a legal duty in the Lisbon Treaty to join the ECHR but when the original agreement was reached it was vetoed by the European Court of Justice on the grounds that the EU cannot legally submit to the ECHR controlling its powers over human rights.

“The EU wants to be a rule-maker and not a rule-taker – exactly the same reason why I and many other colleagues want to leave the ECHR.”

A European Commission spokesperson said: “Advancing with the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights remains a priority for the Commission.

“We have made significant strides and we continue to pursue this important goal. As a next step, the Commission will request the Court of Justice of the European Union for its opinion on the revised draft accession agreement, negotiated between the Union and the member states of the Council of Europe, which foresees the EU’s accession to the ECHR.

“Our aim is to see the EU’s accession to the Convention concluded successfully.”

A Government source said: “ECHR accession is a matter for the EU”.