Britain will seek reform of human rights convention, says Mahmood

The justice secretary said yesterday Britain would pursue reform of the European convention on human rights at home and in Strasbourg, saying "public confidence in the rule of law is fraying".

- Jessica Elgot

Shabana Mahmood's warning in her speech at the Council of Europe came as the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said she would examine how the courts were applying the right to freedom from degrading treatment.

Ministers are understood to be exploring whether change could come in the form of guidance to courts - or even whether to legislate on the issue.

The justice secretary said the government was determined to protect the convention, but said trust would disintegrate if human rights laws "appear to protect the rule-breaker over the rule-follower".

"We can preserve rights by restoring public confidence in them rather than give ground to populism," she said. "The European convention on human rights is one of the great achievements of postwar politics. It has endured because it has evolved. Now it must do so again."