Human rights law may be altered for public safety

London: Britain is considering introducing legislation to prevent the country's human rights laws endangering public safety, the UK's highest-ranking judicial official said yesterday.

Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer told BBC Radio that recent cases of murders committed by dangerous prisoners released early from jail had raised concerns about how the act was working in practice.

"There needs to be public clarity that the Human Rights Act should have no effect on the public safety issues public safety comes first," he said.

The human rights law has come under fierce criticism this week following two unrelated cases involving a murder committed by a released sex attacker and a court decision on the right of a group of Afghan plane hijackers to stay in Britain.

Clarity

A report by Chief Inspector of Prisons Andrew Bridges on Wednesday said too much attention had been paid to the human rights of convicted sex attacker Anthony Rice who went on to kill a 40-year-old mother after being let back into the community.

"The chief inspector of probation made clear that a human rights culture might have undermined people's views about public safety," said Falconer.

"The report appears to be suggesting that in some cases officials are more worried about what may happen in court than reaching the right conclusion on public safety.

"We need to scotch that as soon as possible," Falconer said.

He said Britain was not leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, but needed to make clear how human rights law should work in practice.

Hijack case

Ruling an 'abuse of common sense'

The Human Rights Act came into force in October 2000, making rights from the European Convention enforceable in British courts.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Tony Blair called a High Court ruling an "abuse of common sense" after a judge said the government had abused its power by refusing to allow nine Afghan hijackers to remain in Britain as refugees.

The Afghans had hijacked a Boeing 727 plane in February 2000 after it left Afghanistan's capital Kabul and ordered the pilot to fly to London's Stansted airport. Judge Jeremy Sullivan criticised the government for failing to implement a 2004 appeal panel decision that, under human rights law, the nine could not be sent home because their lives would be at risk.