Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to urgently modify the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to allow member states to take tougher action on border security, warning that failure to act could fuel the rise of the far right across the continent. Ahead of a key summit in Strasbourg, Starmer argued that updating the interpretation of the convention is essential to confront the challenges of mass migration.
In a joint article with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Starmer wrote that mainstream progressive politics must show it can fix the migration problem to combat “forces of hate and division”. The prime minister stressed that listening to legitimate concerns and acting on them is democracy, not empty populism. The UK and Denmark have called on European allies to modernise the ECHR to reflect 21st-century challenges.
The government has already announced plans to legislate on how Article 8—the right to a private life—is interpreted in domestic courts regarding immigration rules. Justice Secretary David Lammy is expected to argue at the summit that Article 3, which prohibits torture and degrading treatment, could also be reinterpreted to limit rights such as prison conditions or healthcare access abroad that currently prevent deportation.
However, the proposals have drawn criticism from human rights campaigners, Labour peers, and some MPs, who argue they could undermine protections for vulnerable people. Actors Michael Palin, Stephen Fry, and Joanna Lumley were among 21 celebrities urging Starmer to drop plans to weaken human rights law and instead take a principled stand for torture victims.
Lammy is set to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to the ECHR, describing withdrawal as a “fake solution” that would undermine international agreements on national and border security. The proposed political declaration from the summit could influence how the European Court of Human Rights interprets ECHR rights if it gains enough signatories.
