Human rights laws are allowing offenders who have ‘fecklessly’ fathered children in Britain to avoid deportation, a top police chief said yesterday.
Stephen Watson’s comments come as both Labour and the Conservatives are finalising tough proposals on immigration, with ministers hoping to curtail the use of the European Convention on Human Rights by foreign criminals.
A new Bill will contain measures designed to restrict the use of the ‘right to private and family life’ under Article 8 of the ECHR.
Asked about its impact on policing in Britain, Sir Stephen said it wasn’t for him to point out what the legislative framework should look like but said Article 8 was often used by offenders to overturn deportation decisions.
‘It seems to me that is entirely unhelpful, particularly when people are simply claiming on the basis of having very often fecklessly fathered a number of children in our country, that they somehow shouldn’t be deported because they’ve got the right to a family life,’ he told the Policy Exchange think tank at a talk in London. ‘Well, I – and I suspect most of the public – beg to differ.’
