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Boris Johnson ‘has given in on human rights’: Michel Barnier says PM agreed to keep Britain subject to European human rights law after Brexit
- The prime minister had previously been warned that the UK would be kicked out of joint law enforcement programs if it backed out of European human rights standards.
- The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, told MEPs that Boris Johnson had given in to the EU’s demand that Britain could retain access to shared intelligence on criminals.
- The European Convention on Human Rights is enshrined in British law by the Human Rights Act, but it has become increasingly unpopular with many conservatives.
Boris Johnson agreed to keep Britain tied to European human rights standards in the Brexit trade deal, says the EU’s chief negotiator.
The prime minister gave in to the EU’s demand that Britain can retain access to shared intelligence on criminals, Michel Barnier told MEPs.
He had previously warned that the UK would be automatically expelled from joint law enforcement programs if it withdraws from the European Convention on Human Rights.
At a closed-door meeting of MEPs on Friday, Barnier said Britain had changed its position.
“We almost agree on judicial and police cooperation,” he said, according to a leaked transcript.
“The British have accepted the prerequisites that we set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. Now we can finish those points. ‘
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to keep Britain bound by European human rights standards in the Brexit trade deal, says EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier as negotiations continue.
The ECHR is enshrined in British law by the Human Rights Act, but it has become increasingly unpopular with many conservatives.
It is often cited by people fighting legal deportation and critics say that the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, which is completely separate from the EU, has wandered far beyond its powers and created new rights than ever before. they were foreseen by their founders.
But the EU entered the Brexit trade negotiations warning that it would end all “police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters” if the UK “denounced the ECHR.”
Barnier said at a press conference earlier this year: ‘When it comes to security and legal cooperation, judicial cooperation, you are talking, for example, of the exchange of personal data, sometimes very personal data, like DNA. In that area, this is a must for us. ‘
The Conservatives promised in their manifestos in the 2010 and 2015 elections that they would scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights.
Before the 2019 elections, Johnson promised to ‘update the Human Rights Act and administrative law to ensure that there is a proper balance between the rights of the people, our vital national security and effective government.’
In the photo flanked by protesters, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier told MEPs that Boris Johnson had given in to the EU’s demand that Britain could retain access to shared intelligence on criminals.
And Interior Minister Priti Patel last month announced proposals to close a loophole that has been exploited by murderers, rapists and other serious criminals.
UK negotiators have won a clause that gives either party the right to suspend or terminate the final agreement if there are serious concerns about the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law.
And Downing Street was downplaying Barnier’s claim to MEPs last night that Britain had changed its position.
A government spokesperson said: “The UK remains committed to the ECHR; We have made this clear over and over again, including in Parliament.
“We agree that cooperation with the EU must be based on our shared values of respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law.
“The UK’s approach to these issues in the context of law enforcement builds on the precedent of the EU’s agreements with third countries in this area.”
The compromise comes as British and EU negotiators rush to try to reach a trade deal in a few days.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told the BBC yesterday: “I think an agreement is possible, but if possible it should be finalized this week, because we are really running out of time in terms of ratification and preparation. .
“But I think a deal is possible because the consequences of not doing so are very costly and disruptive, particularly for the UK and Northern Ireland, but also for the Republic of Ireland. So I think there is a great incentive to close a deal. ‘
He said the negotiating teams must find a compromise “with which both parties can live” in the hot spots of fishing rights and the “level playing field” rules.
Environment Secretary George Eustice suggested that talks could continue for another ten days, leaving very little time for an agreement to pass through the British and European parliaments.
He told Sky News: ‘This is the crucial week where we need to make a breakthrough.
I really think we are in kind of a last week or ten days. Of course, if you made big strides this week and you were almost there, it’s always possible to extend those negotiations. ‘
