Only by leaving EU will we escape human rights legislation

By Edward Spalton. This article irst appeared in the Derby Evening Telegraph on 10th October

Mr Cameron is, of course, quite right that the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) has been expanded to a parody of its original laudable intentions.

It once took many thousands of pounds from public funds to pay a lawyer, Cherie Blair, to take a case on behalf of a schoolgirl who did not want to wear her school uniform.

As long as he keeps us in the EU, Mr Cameron cannot get us out of obeying the ECHR.

In 2011, the EU Commission (a separate body) wrote: “Respect for fundamental rights as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights is an explicit obligation for the Union under article 6 (3) of the Treaty on European Union… (i.e., the Lisbon Treaty). …. The Court of Justice of the EU has held that the Convention is of special importance for determining the fundamental rights that must be respected by the member states.”

So, if Mr Cameron does run away from the European Court of Human Rights, the EU’s own Court of Justice will drag him back and compel his obedience to it. That is in the Lisbon Treaty, which is our country’s supreme constitution, overriding the Magna Carta, Queen, Lords and Commons as long as we remain in the EU. It is the same treaty on which “Cast Iron Cameron” promised us a referendum.