UK to review how European Convention on Human Rights applied amid new asylum rules

LONDON

The UK government will launch a review into how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is being interpreted by British courts, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Tuesday.

Speaking to Sky News, Cooper said the government is concerned about how certain provisions of the ECHR – particularly around family life – are being applied in legal rulings.

"We are reviewing that because we do believe that the way in which it's being interpreted in the courts is an issue, and actually there is greater clarification we can provide through our law to address that,” she said.

Pressed on whether the ECHR could prevent the government from deporting certain sex offenders, Cooper declined to give a direct answer but insisted that the UK would "continue to abide by international law."

The comments came as the home secretary unveiled new immigration rules aimed at tightening the UK's asylum system.

Under the new legislation, anyone listed on the Sex Offenders Register will automatically be barred from claiming asylum in the UK.

Citing the case of Abdul Ezedi – who carried out an acid attack on a mother and her two children last year – Cooper said: "I just think that's wrong. I think it's a disgrace that he was granted asylum in that case, and that's why we're now changing the law."

Ezedi had reportedly been on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade before being granted asylum.
Currently, automatic disqualification from asylum only applies to individuals convicted of terrorism offences, war crimes or those who have received prison sentences of 12 months or more.

“I don't think that goes far enough, I really don't think that goes far enough,” Cooper said.

The new measures will cover sexual offences committed in the UK and also take into account convictions from abroad, Cooper confirmed.