Sir Keir Starmer edited the manual on how to interpret the human rights laws that are preventing Britain from deporting small-boat migrants.
The Prime Minister edited a guide on the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in 1999 when he was a human rights lawyer.
A copy of the book revealed Sir Keir hailed the Human Rights Act as having ‘enormous potential’ and representing a ‘new way of thinking’ about the law.
It came as the Attorney General yesterday ruled out leaving the ECHR and claimed it would be counterproductive for Britain to leave the Convention to tackle illegal migration.
Appearing before the Lords constitution committee, Lord Hermer said ministers would leave ‘no stone unturned’ on the issue. Yet he went on: ‘The Prime Minister has been absolutely crystal clear that we will not be leaving the ECHR.
‘There are a number of reasons for that, but at the heart of it is because it would be completely contrary to the national interest of this country were we to do so.’
Lord Hermer said the UK would only be able to tackle illegal migration by cooperating with Europe if it remains compliant with the ECHR.
‘To leave, as some people are now advocating, would be entirely counterproductive if what we are seeking is not rhetorical answers but real, practical answers,’ he added.
Sir Keir Starmer (pictured in 2002) edited the manual on how to interpret the human rights laws that are preventing Britain from deporting small-boat migrants
Lord Richard Hermer KC (pictured) told peers that the use of Article 8 of the ECHR, the right to private and family life, must be looked at as part of a Home Office review
He also claimed Britain would become like ‘Russia and Belarus’ if it quit the ECHR and other international agreements in order to send migrants overseas who face the risk of death or torture.
Labour’s legal chief added that the application of Article 8 of the ECHR – the right to private and family life – in UK courts, must be looked at as part of a Home Office review.
He said the law allows states an ‘enormous margin of appreciation’ regarding immigration. Lord Hermer also rejected as ‘just wrong’ analysis that the Good Friday Agreement could remain as it is if the UK left the ECHR.
In the book, a copy of which was obtained by GB News, a sentence written by Sir Keir reads: ‘Above all else, the HRA [Human Rights Act] represents a new way of thinking about law, politics and the relationship between public authorities and individuals.
‘Its potential is enormous; its effectiveness depends on the combined willingness of all of us to approach decision-making from a human rights perspective.’
The Prime Minister faced criticism last night for his failure to tackle migration.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told GB News: ‘Keir Starmer was a key figure in turning the Human Rights Act and ECHR into the overriding force in British law that it is today. He says he wants to reform human rights laws but he wrote the how-to manual on how to use human rights laws.’
Two children are among three people to have died in the English Channel overnight in a small boat tragedy, French authorities report (stock image)
Tory justice spokesman Robert Jenrick (pictured) said: ‘The small boats are a national security emergency, but Starmer’s Attorney General is blocking the bold action needed to fix it’
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to the Border Force compound in Dover, Kent, on Tuesday
Tory justice spokesman Robert Jenrick said: ‘The small boats are a national security emergency, but Starmer’s Attorney General is blocking the bold action needed to fix it.
‘If Starmer wanted to stop the boats, he would have sacked Lord Hermer in the reshuffle. But he doesn’t, so he didn’t.’
Today, Conservative former home secretary and attorney general Suella Braverman will launch a blueprint on how to leave the ECHR.
Along with ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost and Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice, they will publish the ‘first comprehensive legal, diplomatic and political plan’ for leaving the convention.
They will argue they can quit the ECHR, protect veterans, secure the UK’s borders, restore sovereignty and rewrite elements of the Belfast Agreement and abolish the Irish Sea border.
The report states: ‘The ECHR has mutated from a shield against tyranny into a sword against sovereignty, often wielded to frustrate democratic government, override parliamentary intent, and paralyse effective policymaking on the most sensitive questions of law, borders, and national security.’