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Human Rights Act omitted from Queen’s Speech (28 May 2015)

Date: 28/05/2015
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Human Rights Act omitted from Queen’s Speech

The Queen’s Speech has not included anticipated legislation which would replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights because it is reported that ministers do not wish to “rush it through”.

Former Justice Secretary Chris Grayling had pledged to replace the EU Court of Appeal at Strasbourg with the UK’s Supreme Court, to prevent rulings in British courts being overturned by the European Court of Human Rights.

As a result of the European Convention on Human Rights – enshrined in UK law in the Human Rights Act – the Home Office has struggled to deport failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals who have served their sentences in British jails.

The new Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor Michael Gove is tasked with the job of scrapping the Human Rights Act and replacing it with the British Bill of Rights – which will now take longer than expected.

The European Convention on Human Rights is a founding principal of the EU and David Cameron is currently trying to renegotiate Britain’s EU membership ahead of an in-out referendum in 2017, which the Conservatives promised UK voters before being re-elected.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats and SNP have all opposed scrapping the Human Rights Act, however.

Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve has also opposed scrapping the Act and told Sky News that, in his opinion, the framework published in October 2014 by the Conservative Party “had not thought through the implications of what was being proposed”.

“It suggested effectively producing a bill of rights, which was a marked reduction on the rights in the European Convention – and suggested that as a result of that we should pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights, or at least demand that it only had an advisory status.

“The convention is probably the most efficient tool in promoting human rights globally, so if we are seen not to be participating in it there are foreign affairs and reputational consequences that we simply can't just ignore.”

Any legislation scrapping the Human Rights Act would also have to win the approval of the House of Lords, where the Conservatives do not have a majority, meaning that the plans to introduce a British Bill of Rights could be thrown out by the Lords.

The Queen’s Speech also included controversial plans to seize the wages of migrants found to be working illegally in the UK – as well as using a visa levy for firms employing foreign workers, to pay for apprenticeships.

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