Take tougher line on asylum human rights, judges told

Labour will order judges to reinterpret parts of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) early next month as the government grapples with the asylum appeals backlog that has sparked the current crisis.

- Catherine Neilan

Ministers in both the Home Office and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will set out tighter guidance on how judges should use Article 8, which protects the right to private and family life, amid concerns it has been misused.

British judges will be issued with a clarification on how to interpret the article more narrowly, tightening up the criteria by which they can approve asylum applications. As part of the update, the Home Office is expected to “legislate the guidance”, two government sources confirmed.

Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood is thought to have started talks with the Lady Chief Justice to prepare for the changes, after a review ordered by the prime minister.