Former Labour minister Jack Straw - who backed Belfast Agreement - says nothing in 1998 deal rules out UK leaving ECHR

A minister who sat in the Labour cabinet which backed the Belfast Agreement has endorsed a new analysis by Policy Exchange that the 1998 deal does not prevent the UK leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

However, former home secretary Jack Straw – who served in the Blair government – says that he does not believe withdrawal from the convention is necessary to tackle the UK’s illegal immigration crisis.

Jack Straw, a minister in the Labour cabinet which backed the Belfast Agreement, has endorsed a Policy Exchange analysis which says leaving the ECHR is not prohibited by the 1998 deal. File photo: Ian Nicholson/PA Wire

placeholder image — Jack Straw, a minister in the Labour cabinet which backed the Belfast Agreement, has endorsed a Policy Exchange analysis which says leaving the ECHR is not prohibited by the 1998 deal. File photo: Ian Nicholson/PA Wire

The paper – endorsed by eminent UK legal figures – “shows in detail” that there is nothing in the Belfast Agreement, nor in any subsequent agreement with the European Union, that prevents the UK from withdrawing from the ECHR.

Mr Straw is quoted in the report as saying: “I am not persuaded that the UK needs to withdraw from the ECHR the better to deal with the unacceptable number of unlawful and unfounded asylum seekers.

“Rather, I believe that we should de-couple our own human rights legislation from the Convention (as other European countries have done). But the debate about our future relationship with the ECHR, and its parent body, the Council of Europe, should be conducted on its merits.

“This paper from distinguished jurists, Casey, Ekins, and Laws, helps to clear the ground for that debate. It argues, in thorough and forensic detail, that ‘whatever the merits of UK withdrawal from the ECHR, nothing in the Belfast Agreement rules it out as a viable course of action’.

“It is essential reading for anyone who wishes seriously to contribute to this debate.”

At the weekend, the News Letter reported a warning from the DUP leader Gavin Robinson that any attempts to deal with illegal immigration need to be practical, achievable and not damage the unity of the country.

His comments came amid a growing debate within unionism about the wisdom of backing Nigel Farage’s policy of pulling the UK out of the ECHR – with any Northern Ireland exit taking “longer”.

Last week, the UUP’s Doug Beattie rubbished Mr Farage’s plans, warning they would result in a people border down the Irish Sea.

ECHR withdrawal has received the backing of DUP MP Sammy Wilson and the TUV leader Jim Allister – providing NI leaves with GB.