UK Borders Bill
10:30 am
Sir Andrew Green: There will be no adequate means of deportation until we look again at the European convention on human rights. An immigration system is only as good as your ability to remove. The ECHR is a major obstacle. The refugee convention is not. As you know, it contains a let-out for serious offenders.The ECHR, particularly article 3 on torture and the well-known Chahal case that internationalises it, is a serious obstacle.
I should like to suggest some new thinking. Everybody in Britain is opposed to torture. It is out of the question. Everyone is deeply reluctant to send someone to a country where they might be tortured. That is common ground. But we must recognise that the present situation is actually a focus of attraction for people who have either committed a serious offence or intend to; I am thinking particularly of terrorism.