Scrapping of Human Rights Act a scandalous attack on peace agreement

PLANS by the new British Government to scrap the Human Rights Act, which could see Britain pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) - would be a serious breach of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, it has been warned.

Sinn Féin's Martina Anderson MEP said the Tories' plans are unacceptable and has written to European Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muiznieks on the issue:

"Given the seriousness of this situation I have asked Commissioner Muiznieks to visit the North of Ireland and to provide an analysis of the human rights implications of a possible British government withdrawal from the European Convention of Human Rights."

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams described the move as a "scandalous attack" and “grievous breach of the GFA”.

However, the DUP have welcomed the proposals by the Conservatives, claiming that the Human Rights Act has been "abused" by people using "spurious challenges to avoid deportation".

In the South, Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe who sits on the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, called on the Irish Government to come out strongly against the move:

"The Irish Government as co-guarantor of the GFA has a critical part to play and needs to oppose any moves by Britain to roll back from key human rights commitments that it signed up in the GFA."

For his part, Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan told the Seanad that the Irish Government "takes very seriously our responsibility to safeguard the Agreement."