Posting this because it is a total non-story that is typical of today’s news cycle.
First you have the standard tiresome tactics currently in use by HMG:
- Don’t deny anything explicitly
- Don’t correct the false assumptions that are then made
Leaving the EHCR is basically a non-starter; the Good Friday Agreement requires the ECHR to be enforceable in Northern Ireland. I don’t see anyone opening up the terms of the GFA anytime soon.
So: there was no explicit statement that there is a plan to leave the ECHR, and leaving the ECHR isn’t realistic anyway. It’s a non-story.
So now into the question: what “real” news is happening today in UK Politics?
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, said the government will do “whatever is required”, even if that means pulling out of the ECHR, the 70-year-old pan-European treaty that protects human rights and political freedoms in the continent.
However, ahead of an election, the Conservatives could dial up their rhetoric against the ECHR in order to create a dividing line with Labour.
The government’s plan to send some migrants to Rwanda for processing of their asylum claims is still facing a supreme court battle.
Jenrick gave his assessment as he announced the government has struck a deal with Turkey to focus on coordinated actions to “disrupt and dismantle” people-smuggling gangs.
On Tuesday night, the government announced the establishment of an operational “centre of excellence” by the Turkish national police and supported by the UK.
The centre would aim to strengthen collaboration between the National Crime Agency and Home Office intelligence staff based in Turkey and their Turkish counterparts, the British government said.
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