SIR - At the recent Conservative Party conference, Chris Grayling, the Justice Minister, who is not a lawyer, announced that after the next election, a majority Conservative government would withdraw this country from the European Convention on Human Rights. This would in turn mean withdrawal in whole or part from the European Court of Human Rights.
The convention came into existence in the aftermath of the horrors of the Second World War, to protect individuals against human rights abuses. The UK became signatories to the convention under the post-war Labour government and it was ratified by parliament in 1951. British participation in the convention was supported by Sir Winston Churchill and by every successive Conservative leader, including Mrs Thatcher.
By a curious quirk of logic, the coalition government is keen to sign up to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This treaty will put jobs and workplace safety at risk. It will also open up public services such as the NHS to competition from transnational corporations, many of them based in the US.
I think it is clear which institution poses the greatest threat to democracy, and it is not the European Court of Human Rights. Think again, Mr Grayling.
Frank Dignan, Law Lecturer, Emm Lane, Heaton, Bradford
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