What does the right care about rights anyway

The story goes that David Cameron was advised by his strategists some time ago to single out the Human Rights Act 1998 as a harmless and relatively inexpensive sacrificial offering for the law-and-orderites and Europhobes within his party. He is said to have been rather luke warm about the suggestion at the time. However, his reservations did not stem from being unconvinced that the Act impeded successful deportation of criminals but that the idea was too closely linked with earlier speeches by leadership rival David Davis about the need for a British bill of rights.

But when the former shadow home secretary won a by-election and screwed up any future chance of senior office in the process, ‘reform’ of the HRA quickly became main opposition A-list platform material.

It may be that Kier Starmer, DPP director has heard the same story or that like many others in the judiciary he is just aghast by such apparent tory willingness to put the UK’s legal standing out in a limb for the sake of a legislative make-over to produce a ‘British law for British people’ – if that is actually possible.

As one academic put it when the idea first surfaced as a Cameron-backed proposal three years ago, "Either this is going to look very much like the Human Rights Act or it's going to look very different, and if it's going to look very different we will still find ourselves falling foul of the Human Rights Act if we stay in the European Convention on Human Rights." And as far as anyone is aware, no-one in CHQ is suggesting that particular split – for now.

Ming Campbell, then Lib Dem leader, also pointed out this contradiction in that repealing the act would mean people having to go to Strasbourg in order to vindicate their rights under the European Convention – but only if they were sufficiently well-off or had access to the necessary resources.

“Essentially what he's doing is taking away from ordinary individuals the opportunity of challenging decisions of government where they believe their individual human rights have been infringed”, he said.

The fact that an establishment figure like Mr Starmer is standing up to be counted in defence of human rights and that tory MPs are demanding he is sacked for his actions probably says all that needs to be said on the matter.