The stabbing of two people in Edinburgh on Monday morning—allegedly carried out by a Somali migrant—has reignited calls for Britain to leave the Strasbourg-based European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), which is routinely used to block deportations and undermines public safety.
Tory MP Neil O’Brien pointed to a similar case last year in which a Somali national was allowed to remain in Britain despite being jailed for violence and wielding a blade. His deportation was blocked under Article Three of the ECHR after he argued that, as a member of a particular clan, he could face persecution if returned to Somalia.
O’Brien argued that “until we leave ECHR and start deporting such people, we will not keep the public safe.”
Former MP Bob Seely said at the time that the case of the Somali migrant who successfully fought deportation raised a series of questions, not least:
~ Why is our country a dustbin for foreign criminals?
~ Why does it matter what tribe he is from?
~ Why don’t our people have the right to be protected?
~ Why is the law stuffed with people whose values are so at odds with those of the British people?
The establishment was, of course, uninterested in providing answers—never mind in changing its ways.
Labour prime minister Keir Starmer has consistently rejected calls to pull Britain out of the ECHR, offering phoney excuses for continued membership.
The Conservatives talked endlessly about possibly exiting the institution while they were in power, but did not act. Party officials now (rather unconvincingly) say they will do so if reelected.
Reform (and former Tory) MP Danny Kruger said late last year that officials who keep Britain tied to the ECHR are making a “mockery of sovereignty,” since this often results in the deportation of foreign criminals being blocked for the most ridiculous reasons.
These people should not be in our country. Our ‘leaders’ are forcing you to subsidise people who hate who we are and want to hurt us.
Police say the Edinburgh incident is not being treated as terror-related.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
