Governments cannot pick and choose when it comes to our rights

Liberty has responded to reports that the Government plans to “opt out” of parts of our human rights laws, warning that “the Government of the day cannot pick and choose” which of our rights to respect.

Liberty Director Martha Spurrier said: “Our human rights laws exist to protect us from State over-reach and abuse of power, the Government of the day cannot pick and choose which to comply with according to their immediate political needs. The Human Rights Act has protected countless people; it has held the State to account for spying on us, supported protest, protected those in care, safeguarded press freedom, and provided answers for grieving families.

“Past Governments have threatened to scrap our human rights laws altogether, and any threat to alter our human rights laws is an attack which could critically undermine them.

“We are living through a crisis that presents the biggest threat to our civil liberties in a generation. As we have been reminded of the dangers of a State that prioritises coercion and control, we know more than ever that we need our human rights, and that they must be protected and championed.”