Starmer urges ECHR overhaul as European leaders meet to rewrite migration rules

The Prime Minister wants European leaders to urgently update and "go further" in modernising its joint human rights laws to prevent asylum seekers using it to avoid deportation.

Sir Keir made the comments ahead of international talks on Wednesday, where leaders will seek to revolutionise how the ECHR handles migration cases.

It could mean international human rights law are reinterpreted to make it easier for nations to target people smugglers and open "returns hubs" to hold people with no right to be in Europe.

Writing ahead of the summit, the PM said that updating the ECHR is needed to confront the issues posed by mass migration.

However, the Government has been criticised for calling for changes with some human rights campaigners, Labour peers and their own MPs arguing the reforms could open the door to countries abandoning some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

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But critics of the ECHR say it blocks the removal of illegal migrants.

Under sweeping changes made last month, home secretary Shabana Mahmood announced that asylum seekers will be returned home if their country is deemed safe and will have to wait 20 years before they can apply to settle permanently.

Over 39,000 people have arrived in the UK after making the journey across the Channel so far this year, according to the Home Office, which is already higher than the numbers for 2023 and 2024.

Writing in the Guardian alongside Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, Sir Keir said: "The best way of fighting against the forces of hate and division, is to show that mainstream, progressive politics can fix this problem.

"Listening to legitimate concerns and acting on them is what our politics is about. That's not empty populism, it's democracy.

"We are determined to show that our societies can act with compassion while upholding law and order, and fairness."

He added: "Europe has faced big tests before and we have overcome them by acting together. Now we must do so again.

"Otherwise, the forces that seek to divide us will grow stronger. So our message is this: as responsible, progressive governments we will deliver the change that people are crying out for.

"We will control our borders to protect our democracies – and make our nations stronger than ever in the years to come."

Last month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood vowed to "restore order" to the British asylum system with changes modelled on the approach taken by Denmark.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy will attend Wednesday's Council of Europe Justice Ministers' Meeting in Strasbourg.

The Government will bring forward legislation to clarify how Article 8 ECHR - the right to a private life - is interpreted domestically in relation to immigration rules, to ensure an appropriate balance between the rights of individuals and the national interest.

At the meeting, Mr Lammy is expected to say: "We must strike a careful balance between individual rights and the public's interest, otherwise we risk a loss of confidence in the convention, and in human rights themselves.

"The definition of family life can’t be stretched to prevent the removal of people with no right to remain in the country.

"The threshold of inhuman and degrading treatment must be constrained to the most serious issues.

"States must be able to take proportionate decisions on the removal of foreign criminals, so that we renew the convention’s democratic foundation."