Starmer mulls changing interpretation of international law to make it easier to deport asylum seekers

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has signalled that he wants to change how international law is used in asylum cases, which could potentially mean that asylum seekers will be unable to avoid being deported if they state they could face torture in their home country.

Starmer said the government will review the way British courts apply the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), which also means that people may be deported from the UK even if that would mean separating them from their families.

Human rights campaigners have criticised the proposed changes, with Steve Smith, the CEO of refugee charity Care4Calais saying that the prime minister is now risking turning "from a human rights lawyer to a human rights shredder".

Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday, Starmer denied claims he was "tearing up" the ECHR, adding: "We need to look again at the interpretation of some of these provisions and we have already begun to do that work in some of our for domestic legislation".

He added that the government was further reviewing other conventions concerning "refugees, torture and children’s rights".

"We are seeing mass migration in a way we have not seen in previous years. Those genuinely fleeing persecution should be afforded asylum – that is a compassionate act, but we need to look again at the interpretation of some of those provisions – not tear them down but look at the interpretation," he continued.

His decisions have been backed by the former Labour Home Secretary, Jack Straw, who dubbed Starmer’s move as "very sensible".

When quizzed by Radio 4’s Today Programme on a case where a Brazilian paedophile claimed he would be treated worse in a Brazilian prison compared to one in the UK, Starmer said there was a marked difference between deporting someone to "summary execution" and sending them to somewhere with a different level of healthcare or prison conditions.

Recently, ministers in the UK have begun exploring ways to tighten the interpretation of certain aspects of the ECHR to crack down on immigration.

However, Starmer has also lambasted Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has called for exiting the ECHR and other international treaties.

Speaking to reporters, Starmer confirmed that Article 3 of the ECHR, which focuses on protection from torture and degrading treatment and Article 8, which centres on the right to a private family life, are the ones that are being assessed currently.

UK cabinet minister Pat McFadden also said that ministers would look at the "interpretation of some of these articles without walking away from the convention".

 "For example, if someone is to be deported, the protection is against torture. But is it really torture if the prison conditions or some other conditions in that country don’t meet British standards? Most people would say that wasn’t torture," he told the PA news agency.

However Care4Calais CEO Steve Smith told reporters: "As humans, we should all be concerned when a politician threatens to rip up human rights. Even more so when its driven by the vindictiveness of targeting survivors of torture. No one is safe from a politician who can act with such callousness."