Proposal to replace Human Rights Act with bill of rights is effort to make government ‘untouchable’, say critics
, the Human Rights Act is the cornerstone of people power in this country. It’s no coincidence that the very politicians it holds to account want to see it fatally weakened.”
The government said the bill will make explicit that interim measures from the ECHR such as the one issued last week which prevented the removal flight to Rwanda are not binding on UK courts. Stephanie Boyce, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said: “The erosion of accountability trumpeted by the justice secretary signals a deepening of the government’s disregard for the checks and balances that underpin the rule of law.
“Overall, the bill would grant the state greater unfettered power over the people, power which would then belong to all future governments, whatever their ideologies.” “The bill of rights will result in everyone’s rights being eroded and everyone’s protections being reduced but obviously with the most disproportionate effects on already marginalised communities.”