Kemi Badenoch has warned there is “no silver bullet” to tackle immigration, but said it is “likely” the UK should leave the ECHR.
It comes as the Conservative Party leader launched a review into whether the UK should leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
In a landmark speech setting out her party’s position on immigration, the Tory leader accused the body, which dates back to the 1950s, of becoming a “sword used to attack democratic decisions and common sense”.
Politics latest: Badenoch says ‘Britain is being mugged’
She said the ECHR has been used to prevent foreign criminals, including convicted groomers, from being deported, as they have a right to family life under Article Eight of the convention.
Ms Badenoch said: “Over and over again, we hear of cases like this, where the law is weak, or just a mess.
“Right now, we are turning into a country that protects criminals and rewards their victims.”
She said “this can’t go on” and described the use of the law in this way as “lawfare”.
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New immigration policy
Ms Badenoch said she would like to see “a total end to asylum claims in this country by illegal immigrants”.
She also said the Conservatives want “all those who arrive illegally and try to claim asylum” to be deported immediately.
The current asylum system is “broken”, and the government has “lost control” of it – with the system now in the control of people traffickers, she alleged.
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Ms Badenoch said she would like to see “fundamental reform”, which is why she said she has launched a commission to review the ECHR.
The commission will be chaired by Tory peer and former justice minister Lord Wolfson of Tredegar, who is now the shadow attorney general.
She accused Labour of having “no interest” in reforming the ECHR, and said that they “quite like the way things are”.
Ms Badenoch also said the government “isn’t interested” in solving problems such as how many immigrants should be allowed to stay in the UK.
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Badenoch’s five tests
The Conservative Party leader set out “five tests” she would like the review to judge the ECHR against:
• The deportation test – whether parliament, rather than the courts, “decides who comes here and who stays”
• The veterans test – this is about stopping “veterans being endlessly pursued by vexatious legal attacks”
• The fairness test – whether British citizens can be prioritised for social housing and public services
• The justice test – whether prison sentences can be made to actually reflect parliament’s intentions
• The prosperity test – whether parliament can “prevent endless legal challenges for our infrastructure projects”
Ms Badenoch said that if these tests cannot be met and there is “no realistic prospect of changing them”, then the UK must leave the ECHR – “no hesitation, no apology”.
She admitted “there is no silver bullet” – but added she believes this is the best course of action.
The review will report back at the party’s conference in the autumn.
What are the other parties saying?
Ms Badenoch’s position goes less far than that of Reform UK, who she also attacked in her speech.
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Nigel Farage has said he would leave the ECHR already.
It also puts her out of step with some of her cabinet, including prominent Tory, Robert Jenrick.
The shadow justice secretary warned Tories the party would “die” if they did not back exiting the ECHR.
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Labour has meanwhile said it would like to remain in the ECHR but will bring forward legislation to “ensure it is the government and not parliament that decides who should have the right to remain in the UK”.
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said compliance with international law has helped the government strike deals about cracking down on criminal gangs, such as with France and Germany.
A Labour spokesperson accused Ms Badenoch of “booting [the issue] into the long grass”.
They said: “Kemi Badenoch bemoaned the broken immigration and asylum system, but failed to mention it was her party which broke it. The Tories had had 14 years to fix our immigration system.”
