Claims NI peace deal stops UK leaving ECHR ‘entirely groundless’ – think tank

Claims that the UK cannot withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) because of commitments made in the Good Friday Agreement are “entirely groundless”, a think tank has claimed.

One of the authors of the paper from the Policy Exchange said public debate about human rights law reform has been “distorted” by the repeated assertion that withdrawal from the ECHR would breach the historic peace deal.

The 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement largely ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland and led to the establishment of the powersharing Stormont Assembly. It was backed by referendums on both sides of the Irish border.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has ordered a review into whether the UK should quit the ECHR, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has long supported leaving it.

In a speech last week to launch his party’s plans to tackle illegal migration, Mr Farage said the Good Friday Agreement could be “renegotiated” to remove references to the convention.

His comments were criticised by some politicians in Northern Ireland who argued the ECHR underpins the agreement.

But the Policy Exchange said “nothing in the UK’s commitments to the peace process in Northern Ireland requires it to remain a part of the ECHR”.

The paper states: “When one considers the Belfast Agreement carefully, noting the relationship between the British-Irish Agreement (the treaty) and the Multi-Party Agreement (the political agreement), it is clear that the Belfast Agreement does not forbid the UK (or Ireland) from exercising its right in international law to withdraw from the ECHR.

It continues: “Whatever the merits of UK withdrawal from the ECHR, nothing in the Belfast Agreement rules it out as a viable course of action.

“In choosing to exercise the UK’s right to withdraw from the ECHR, a future government would neither be flouting the UK’s international obligations under the Belfast Agreement nor failing to respect the political settlement that grounds the peace process.”

One of the authors of the paper, Professor Richard Ekins, said: “Public debate about human rights law reform has been distorted by the repeated assertion that withdrawal from the ECHR would breach the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.

“In fact, neither the letter nor the spirit of the Belfast Agreement in any way requires the UK – or Ireland – to remain within the ECHR.

“And the agreements reached with the EU after Brexit confirm the point, leaving it open to the UK to choose to leave the ECHR.”

It also said the Windsor Framework, the agreement over post-Brexit trading, does not rule out UK withdrawal from the ECHR.

The document has received the endorsement of former Labour home secretary and foreign secretary Jack Straw.

He said: “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.”

He said the Policy Exchange paper helped to clear the ground for the debate.

Mr Straw added: “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.”

A Government spokesperson said: “Britain will continue to remain a member of the ECHR.

“It underpins key international agreements, on trade, security and migration, including the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, and has helped us secure vital new deals with Germany and France to tackle illegal migration.

“As set out in our Immigration White Paper, we are looking at how we can tighten the application of Article 8 of the ECHR – giving courts the clarity they need to stop our immigration rules from being abused.”

Naomi Smith, chief executive of Best for Britain, a campaign group which lobbies for closer ties with the EU, rejected the think tank’s findings.

She said: “In 30 pages, the Good Friday Agreement cites the ECHR seven times as an essential safeguard.”