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David Lammy and Keir Starmer have called on European leaders to look at the ECHR(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The UK has pleaded with European leaders to make sweeping changes to human rights laws in a bid to tackle illegal migration.

Keir Starmer warned that failure to adapt the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) will drive voters to the “forces that seek to divide us”. But critics warn that vital protections for those fleeing perscution could be ripped away if rules change.

The Government says two sections of the ECHR – protections against inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to a family life – are being used to prevent removals. The landmark European-wide legislation was drawn up after the Second World War, with Winston Churchill among its biggest advocates. The Tories and Reform UK are both clamouring for Britain to leave the ECHR altogether – a move Labour opposes.

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The Government is under pressure to tackle small boat crossings(Image: PA Wire)

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told the Council of Europe that the ECHR “must not stop” efforts to tackle illegal migration. Ahead of the meeting Mr Starmer and Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen acknowledged the “current asylum framework was created for another era”, adding: “In a world with mass mobility, yesterday’s answers do not work.

“We will always protect those fleeing war and terror – but the world has changed and asylum systems must change with it.” Council of Europe secretary general Alain Berset indicated members are willing to look at adapting the declaration.

He said: “This is really the starting of a process on a consensus basis. That’s the most important point for today. All 46 member states have reaffirmed their deep and abiding commitment to both the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights.

“This is not rhetoric. This is a political decision of the highest order. But ministers have also expressed their concerns regarding the unprecedented challenges posed by migration and the serious questions governments face in maintaining societies that deliver for citizens.”

Mr Lammy said the convention “is a critical foundation of peace, stability, and security in Europe” – but it “was never intended to be frozen in time.” He stated: “The threshold of ‘inhuman and degrading treatment’ must be constrained to the most serious issues.

“And states must be able to take proportionate decisions on the removal of foreign criminals, so that we renew the convention’s democratic foundation.”

Campaign groups have hit out at measures to adapt the convention. Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at Freedom from Torture, warned against changes to Article 3, which includes an absolute ban on torture, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

She said: “The Government was elected on the promise that it would stand by the ECHR, and it must make sure that any rethink of Article 3 does not lead to a watering down of the absolute ban on torture.

“Anything less would betray both the UK’s own history in forging that ban and the countless survivors of torture who rely on it. Torture is one of the most appalling violations imaginable and for centuries the UK has been a strong voice against it.

“If the Government takes even small steps towards weaking Article 3 protections, it risks setting off a chain reaction that could trigger a domino effect around the world. That cannot be allowed to happen.”