Following months of internal divisions within the party, leader of the Conservatives Kemi Badenoch announced that her party would "take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if they win the next election".
The ECHR plays a vital role in instilling equality in the eyes of the law, promoting compassion for those fighting tyranny, and upholding the fundamental human rights we all take for granted. To withdraw from the ECHR would, for example, risk unravelling the gains of a decades-long peace process between The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Dominic Grieve KC, co-president of European Movement UK and former Attorney General, said:
"The advice received by Kemi Badenoch shows clearly that leaving the ECHR will come at great cost. It will end at minimum all security co-operation with the EU and probably the TCA itself with all the economic implications that come from this.
"Despite the attempts in the advice to wriggle round reality, it is plainly in breach of the Good Friday agreement, an international treaty that underpins the Northern Ireland peace process.
"All this is for very little benefit. The advice is honest enough to point out that leaving does not solve all the problems of deporting criminals and remaining failed asylum seekers. The reality is however starker. It is largely peripheral to these issues. By leaving we will damage ourselves and our international standing and the electorate will see almost no impact on dealing with illegal immigration."
We have launched an open letter, addressed to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, demanding that Britain must remain in the ECHR.
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