World News - Criminal migrant rights face axe

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  • xman
    Admin
    • Sep 2006
    • 24007

    World News - Criminal migrant rights face axe

    3 October 2011 Last updated at 17:13 ET By Brian Wheeler Political reporter, BBC News, in Manchester Foreign criminals might no longer be able to avoid deportation by claiming a "right to family life" under proposals announced by the home secretary.

    Theresa May will talk of plans to rewrite the immigration rules to prevent "abuse" of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

    The move is likely to go down well with Tory activists at the party's annual conference in Manchester.

    Many have been calling for the Human Rights Act to be scrapped.

    It is likely to be less popular with the Conservatives' Lib Dem coalition partners, who are strong supporters of the act, which incorporates the European Convention into British law.

    But aides have stressed that the policy has been cleared by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, as well as Justice Secretary Ken Clarke - seen as another liberal voice on criminal justice.

    Public protection MPs are not expected to get a chance to vote on the change as it is contained in secondary legislation.

    Home Office sources do not claim the rule change will mean the government can deport everyone it wants to, but it will "rebalance" the system.

    Although everyone has a right under Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to respect for their private and family life, officials point out, it is not an absolute right.

    They insist it is legitimate to interfere with the exercise of that right where it is in the public interest to do so, for public protection or to protect the British economy.

    The home secretary is examining how to make clear in the immigration rules that a foreign national can be deported when they have been convicted of a criminal offence, breached immigration rules, set up a family life while in the UK illegally, chosen Britain as their country of residence or are unable to support themselves financially.

    'Impasse' The Conservatives are on a collision course with the Lib Dems over plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights.

    A commission set up to examine the policy, which is enshrined in the coalition agreement, is due to report later this year.

    Conor Burns, a Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Northern Ireland Office, told the BBC: "The deputy prime minister told his conference really clearly last week that he is having no truck with removing the Human Rights Act from the statute book.

    "So we have got a bit of an impasse here."

    He added: "I don't really understand the point of the report going to Nick Clegg if Nick Clegg has already made his mind up.

    "So I think the prime minister now should ask the commission to report to him. All I'm saying is, very clearly, the coalition should implement the coalition agreement."

    The prime minister and Theresa May both say they want to scrap the Human Rights Act but can not act as quickly as they would like due to Liberal Democrat opposition.





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