Labour to Review Changes to ECHR as UK Migrant Debate Flares
An anti-immigration protest outside the New Bridge Hotel in Newcastle on Aug. 30.
Photographer: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images EuropeThe UK government will look into whether it should seek changes to the European Convention on Human Rights, as the ruling Labour party seeks to blunt criticism of its handling of immigration and asylum issues.
Labour believes that the ECHR — a post-War convention that came into force in 1953 — needs to be reformed, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told Sky News on Sunday, speaking for the government. She said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was “committed” to reviewing Article 8 of the treaty, which protects the right to privacy and family life, and has been used to challenge some deportations.