The Human Rights Act (HRA) does not need to be ‘reformed’ and, to the extent that any minor modifications are necessary, the Government’s proposed overhaul is entirely unjustified and dangerous. There is simply no need for a Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act, in the manner proposed by the Government.

With anti-democratic, authoritarian regimes (literally) advancing across the globe, and widespread appalling human rights abuses (from Putin’s war crimes in Ukraine, to the CCP’s Uyghur genocide, or Saudi Arabia’s destruction of Yemen or assassination of Jamal Khashogghi), now is the worst possible time to be watering down our domestic human rights protections – it sends a clear message to dictators around the world: the UK is no longer serious about protecting human rights, and you don’t need to be either.