Kemi Badenoch to launch review into ECHR exit

Published

1 month ago

June 5, 2025

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Kemi Badenoch is to launch a review into whether the UK should leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – and set out plans to revive a Rwanda-style deportation scheme.

In a speech on Friday, the Conservative leader will announce a commission into how lawyers could be prevented from using international legislation to block government decisions on immigration.

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She will also announce plans to prevent people who arrive by small boat from claiming asylum and deport them to a third country.

It is unclear if this would be Rwanda or another location.

One of Labour’s first acts in government was to scrap the Tories’ Rwanda scheme, which would have deported illegal immigrations to the African nation for them to claim asylum there.

The plan was held up by a series of legal challenges and ultimately failed to get off the ground before the election, despite around £700m being spent on it, according to the Home Office.

The saga sparked a debate within the Tory party about whether the UK would need to leave the ECHR, which was established after the Second World War and sets out the rights and freedoms of people in the 46 countries signed up to it.

During the Conservative leadership race, Ms Badenoch said leaving the ECHR wasn’t a “silver bullet” and “not even the most radical thing that we probably will have to do” to control immigration.

It put her at odds with her rival Robert Jenrick, now the shadow justice secretary, who claimed the Tories would “die” if they did not back exiting the ECHR.

Ms Badenoch’s commission will be chaired by Tory peer and former justice minister Lord Wolfson of Tredegar, the shadow attorney general.

A Conservative Party aide close to the detail said: “Kemi has worked hard to bring the shadow cabinet together on this very difficult issue.

“She has always said she will take her time to build a proper, workable plan to tackle the issue of the courts subverting parliamentary democracy. This commission, led by the brilliant lawyer Lord Wolfson, will make sure we’re ready to take the tough decisions.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the polls since the general election, has also said he would leave the ECHR.

Labour’s policy is to remain in it, but to bring forward legislation to “ensure it is the government and parliament that decides who should have the right to remain in the UK”.

According to the immigration white paper unveiled last month, this would address cases where Article 8 right to family life legal arguments have been used to frustrate deportation, often in the case of foreign criminals.

Article 8 was also used in the case of a Palestinian family fleeing Gaza after they applied to enter the UK through a Ukrainian refugee scheme.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the Home Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday that family migration has become “so complex” that courts are applying “exceptional” human rights guarantees to about a third of cases.

She said: “The proportion of decisions being taken as exceptional – often under interpretations around Article 8 – end up being about 30 percent of the cases. That is not exceptional, that is a much broader proportion.”

However, she rejected calls to disapply the ECHR, saying compliance with international law has helped the government strike deals with France and Germany to help crack down on criminal gangs.

She said the government will draw up a “clear framework” that will be “much easier for the courts to interpret and will reflect what the public want to see”.

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How Vietnam is using crypto to fix its FATF reputation

Published

3 hours ago

July 7, 2025

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How Vietnam is using crypto to fix its FATF reputation

Vietnam is leveraging crypto regulation to meet FATF standards, combat digital asset fraud and rebuild its international financial reputation.

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UAE Golden Visa is ‘being developed independently‘ — TON Foundation

Published

4 hours ago

July 7, 2025

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UAE Golden Visa is ‘being developed independently‘ — TON Foundation

The TON Foundation distanced itself from initial Golden Visa claims, saying the move is an independent initiative with no official backing from the United Arab Emirates government.

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Building societies step up protest against Reeves’s cash ISA reforms

Published

9 hours ago

July 7, 2025

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Building societies step up protest against Reeves's cash ISA reforms

Building society chiefs will this week intensify their protests against the chancellor’s plans to cut cash ISA limits by warning that it will push up borrowing costs for homeowners and businesses.

Sky News has obtained the draft of a letter being circulated by the Building Societies Association (BSA) among its members which will demand that Rachel Reeves abandons a proposed move to slash savers’ annual cash ISA allowance from the existing £20,000 threshold.

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The draft letter, which is expected to be published this week, warns the chancellor that her decision would deter savers, disrupt Labour’s housebuilding ambitions and potentially present an obstacle to economic growth by triggering higher funding costs.

“Cash ISAs are a cornerstone of personal savings for millions across the UK, helping people from all walks of life to build financial resilience and achieve their savings goals,” the draft letter said.

“Beyond their personal benefits, Cash ISAs play a vital role in the broader economy.

“The funds deposited in these accounts support lending, helping to keep mortgages and loans affordable and accessible.

“Cutting Cash ISA limits would make this funding more scarce which would have the knock-on effect of making loans to households and businesses more expensive and harder to come by.

“This would undermine efforts to stimulate economic growth, including the government’s commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes.

“Cutting the Cash ISA limit would send a discouraging message to savers, who are sensibly trying to plan for the future and undermine a product that has stood the test of time.”

The chancellor is reportedly preparing to announce a review of cash ISA limits as part of her Mansion House speech next week.

While individual building society bosses have come out publicly to express their opposition to the move, the BSA letter is likely to be viewed with concern by Treasury officials.

The Nationwide is by far Britain’s biggest building society, with the likes of the Coventry, Yorkshire and Skipton also ranking among the sector’s largest players.

In the draft letter, which is likely to be signed by dozens of building society bosses, the BSA said the chancellor’s proposals “would make the whole ISA regime more complex and make it harder for people to transfer money between cash and investments”.

“Restricting Cash ISAs won’t encourage people to invest, as it won’t suddenly change their appetite to take on risk,” it said.

“We know that barriers to investing are primarily behavioural, therefore building confidence and awareness are far more important.”

The BSA called on Ms Reeves to back “a long-term consumer awareness and information campaign to educate people about the benefits of investing, alongside maintaining strong support for saving”.

“We therefore urge you to affirm your support for Cash ISAs by maintaining the current £20,000 limit.

“Preserving this threshold will enable households to continue building financial security while supporting broader economic stability and growth.”

The BSA declined to comment on Monday on the leaked letter, although one source said the final version was subject to revision.

The Treasury has so far refused to comment on its plans.