Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has declared the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is "no longer fit for purpose" and backed calls to withdraw from the treaty. Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Sunday Show, Findlay endorsed Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch's pledge to take the UK out of the ECHR if the party wins the next election.
Findlay argued the convention has consistently blocked governments from tackling illegal immigration effectively. "I think people have been able to see year after year that the EHRC is no longer fit for purpose and it has blocked governments from being able to deal with the issue of illegal migration," he said.
The Scottish Tory leader criticised Labour's record on immigration since taking power. "When Labour came to power they said they would … stop the boats, and in fact since then 50,000 people have crossed the channel and come here illegally," Findlay stated. "We now need to find a mechanism to remove people who should not be here and foreign criminals right now."
Policy reversal from previous stance
Findlay's position marks a significant shift from last year when, as newly appointed Scottish Conservative leader, he had expressed a preference to remain within the ECHR framework. At that time, he said he wanted to stay in the convention but acknowledged "nothing is off the table."
The Scottish leader defended his change of stance by pointing to detailed analysis commissioned by the Conservative Party. "What I said was, this needs to be looked at and what Kemi Badenoch has done and what she explained to Laura Kuenssberg a short while ago wasn't just some knee-jerk response as seen from other parties," he explained.
Conservative Party review findings
Findlay highlighted the comprehensive nature of the Conservative Party's review into the ECHR's impact on UK policy. "What she's done is commissioned Lord Wolfson to look at ECHR and he has found that it has acted as an impediment on governments being able to act as they see fit and that's why this report which runs down 200 pages is credible, it's serious," he said.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch announced on Saturday that the party would withdraw the UK from the ECHR if victorious in the next general election. The announcement followed a review conducted by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar, a Conservative peer and former justice minister who serves as the party's lead lawyer.
Lord Wolfson's review concluded that remaining within the ECHR framework blocks essential migration reforms and leads to what he described as persecution of military veterans. Badenoch, who last year described leaving the treaty as not being a "silver bullet" for immigration issues, said on Friday the move was necessary to "protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens."
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
