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Michael, the European Convention on Human Rights may not be immediately relevant in every case but there is no doubt that both foreign criminals and illegal migrants abuse the Convention to avoid deportation. This is even recognised by Keir Starmer, but rather than supporting the Conservative policy of withdrawing from the Convention, he proposes instead to disapply certain clauses, such as the right to family life, at least in the extreme interpretation given by the European judges. However  the government has not yet published its plan. There is no guarantee in any case that the judges of the European Court, many of them judicial activists, would allow the UK to disapply any part of the Convention. And it is not clear that Labour backbench MPs would agree to any derogation from the Convention.The ECHR seems to be a totemic issue for many on the left, uniting different strands of opinion. Remainers generally regard anything that begins with the word European as good and wise, regarding the prefix British as narrow minded and insular. Internationalists think that if the UK withdrew from the Convention  it would become a pariah state, forgetting that many vibrant democracies like Australia, New Zealand and the United States have not signed up to the Convention or anything similar. And the human rights lobby believe that if the UK withdrew , British people would no longer have any rights, forgetting that many,  if not all, of the rights detailed in the Convention have been enshrined in British law for centuries. Indeed the Convention was largely drafted by a British lawyer in the aftermath of the Second World War to reflect the traditions of democracies like Britain and France.

Steven Rose ● 1d

Ms HammondMore interesting yet shocking background to this abhorrent crime from the Spectator which shows it is very much not unique.The background of the perpetrators however is.'On 10 May this year a 15-year-old girl was with friends near parkland on the outskirts of Leamington Spa. Shortly after 9 p.m. she was separated from those friends and abducted by Jan Jahanzeb, a 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who arrived in the UK in January. The victim had the quick thinking to record the start and aftermath on her phone, so footage of the incident exists. As a result we know that while she was being taken away from her friends, the girl screamed for help, but Jahanzeb placed his hand over her mouth.From that video we also know that Jahanzeb called his friend Israr Niazal, another Afghan asylum seeker. During that call, conducted in Pashto, Jahanzeb said ‘Oh my god, I’m a Muslim in one minute’. (Does this mean he believes that raping a white non-Muslim girl enhances him in the eyes of fellow Muslims ? - JH)Jahanzeb was sentenced to ten years and eight months. Deportation papers have already been issued to him. Niazal received a sentence of nine years and ten months. According to his barrister, Niazal is still seeking asylum and intends ‘to make a life in this country after he has been released.’ (sic)Were this an isolated incident it would be horrifying enough. But of course, it isn’t. Yesterday, Croydon Magistrates’ Court sentenced Iraqi asylum seeker Hawre Mohamed to eight months in prison for sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman at Horley railway station on 22 September. When Mohamed is released from prison in two months’ time he will be able to continue his application for asylum.Last month at Warwick Crown Court, Ahmad Mulakhil, an Afghan, pleaded guilty to raping a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton.On 13 November, Amin Abedi Mofrat, an Iranian asylum seeker, was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for the rape of a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Oxford.On 1 November Eid Anwar Fathi Najjar, an illegal migrant from Egypt, pleaded guilty to marching a woman out of a York nightclub and raping her in an alleyway.The list goes on.Every single one of these horrific crimes is not just a tragedy. Every single one of these crimes is entirely avoidable.As Rob Bates, Director of the Centre for Migration Control has said, ‘we know that the nationalities coming across on the boats are hugely overrepresented in crime statistics… These men should never have been in the country. The barbarism seen in Leamington Spa, and towns across the country are the direct result of an asylum system that extends every generosity and largesse to illegal migrants whilst viewing the safety of British citizens as nothing but an inconvenient afterthought.Every single one of these horrific crimes is not just a tragedy. Every single one of these crimes is entirely avoidable.That’s the truth. The British state, aided by activists and charities, is choosing every day to import men it knows pose a substantial risk of sexually assaulting, raping or even murdering innocent Brits. This is a the result of choices made by politicians, civil servants and judges every single day.This means that the state, along with its open borders mercenaries are ultimately responsible for every single one of these crimes. Never let them forget that'.

John Hawkes ● 1d