Calls for UK to leave human rights treaty

LEADING Brexiteers have called for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights immediately, as the EU pushes ahead with its plans to join.

- By David Williamson

The set of rights 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 ECHR is not an EU institution and there are fears the EU will gain influence over human rights laws "by the back door".

Brexiteers say Brussels' determination to sign up to the Convention is also a sign of its intent to become a nation state.

Former Brexit minister David Jones said: "The possibility of EU accession to the ECHR is deeply troubling. The Convention was designed for sovereign states, not supranational bodies.