Government scraps human rights reform hours after Jewish charity’s warning

Liz Truss has shelved plans to reform UK human rights law, hours after a leading Jewish charity joined calls for the government to abandon the proposals.

The charity René Cassin said the Bill of Rights, a flagship policy under former Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, would reduce people’s rights rather than strengthening them, and makes it harder for them to challenge decisions made by public authorities.

A bill was due for a second reading in parliament next week, but multiple news outlets reported on Wednesday that it had been scrapped.

Mia Hasenson-Gross, René Cassin’s executive director, had said its concerns “reflect our Jewish beliefs, values and history” and urged the government instead to maintain the Human Rights Act, which was introduced under Tony Blair in 1998.

She the bill “results in marginalisation, threatens the right to freedom of religion, and prevents human rights law keeping up to date with current social mores.

“All these aspects have a resonance for the Jewish community, particularly through the lived experience and history of past persecution and genocide. We urge MPs to vote against this regressive Bill.”

The proposed Bill of Rights, a Conservative manifesto commitment, would have given the Supreme Court legal supremacy over the European Court of Human Rights, allowing British courts to disregard the ECHR’s rulings.