Holyrood warns Westminster: We won’t let you scrap Human Rights Act

Answering questions in the Scottish Parliament, Cabinet secretary Alex Neil warned new Tory Justice Secretary Michael Gove that the Scottish Government would oppose any plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights.

Neil said: “The Scottish Government’s position is that implementation of the Conservative Government’s proposals would require legislative consent and that this Parliament should make it clear that such consent will not be given”.

The minister claimed that there was “insufficient detail” in the UK Government’s plans to know what the full impact of scrapping the Act would be in Scotland.

Neil did point out that, from what information was available, that the breaking of the link between the Scottish Courts and Europe would deny people in Scotland the right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Neil said: “If the UK Government followed through on its threats to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, people in Scotland would no longer be able to take cases to the European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR is the world’s most successful human rights treaty and it has been hugely influential around the world. It is incumbent on this Parliament to send a clear message that the proposals are unacceptable and will not receive our support.”

MSP Mark McDonald, who had tabled the question, accused the Westminster government of “extremely dangerous posturing”.

Earlier in the day, the new Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell told Radio Scotland that plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights would apply in Scotland: “New legislation replaces existing legislation and therefore the new act will apply in Scotland.

“I think people in Scotland share the concerns that have been voiced across the United Kingdom – that we’ve got the balance wrong between rights and responsibilities.

“So, what the purpose of the act that we’ll be bringing forward is, is to not only enshrine rights but also enshrine responsibilities.”

During question time in the parliament, Neil Findlay MSP said these plans would be “just the first grenade being lobbed in what will be a bloody assault”.

Defending the proposals, Conservative MSP Margaret Mitchell said that proposals were an “opportunity to sort out some of the not inconsiderable problems that have arisen from the incorporation of ECHR directly into Scots law via the Scotland Act 1998”.

Earlier in the day Nicola Sturgeon had also voiced her opposition to the plans: “I oppose the repeal of the Human Rights Act, I think it’s an appalling thing to be doing” she said. “Human rights are there to protect all of us, for example it was the Human Rights Act that enabled people to go to court to object against the ‘bedroom tax’.

“The idea that we take away human rights, I think, is just an awful suggestion, so the Scottish Government will oppose that and work hard to make sure that in Scotland people still get vital human-rights protection.”

After the session , Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said: “The new Tory Government wants to put us in the same category as Kazakhstan in terms of how we view human rights.”

Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: “Scrapping the Human Rights Act and abandoning the European Convention would be unjust and lead to fragmentation of rights here in Scotland, given the differing approaches of the UK and Scottish Governments and the mixture of devolved and reserved responsibilities.”

“It would make it much harder to take cases to court, and it would strip our own citizens of basic rights, but also send a terrible message to the world that the UK is willing to disregard international human rights standards, undermining our ability to challenge overseas oppression.”

“It’s alarming to think that the UK Government’s effort will be led by Michael Gove. This ideological assault must be opposed, and we must be prepared in this new political landscape to argue for devolution of responsibility for human rights.”