The actors Michael Palin, Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley are among 21 well-known figures calling on Keir Starmer to drop plans to weaken human rights law and instead “take a principled stand” for torture victims, on the eve of a crucial European summit.
As David Lammy prepares to attend a Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg that will discuss legal changes to stop bogus asylum claims, the novelist Julian Barnes, the actor Adrian Lester and the comedian Aisling Bea have also signed a letter telling the prime minister: “Any attempt at undermining universal protections is an affront to us all and a threat to the security of each and every one of us.”
Lammy, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, is expected to argue on Wednesday that the European convention on human rights (ECHR) could be reinterpreted to limit the scope of rights under article 3, which prohibits torture and “inhuman or degrading treatment”.
Under sweeping changes announced last month by the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, the government said it wanted to introduce measures to stop asylum seekers using their rights in the ECHR to a family life to avoid deportation. The Conservative party and Reform UK have both called for withdrawal from the convention altogether.
But ministers have come under growing pressure from human rights campaigners, Labour peers and some backbenchers to resist making changes, saying it would open the door to countries abandoning some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
The letter, addressed to the prime minister, says: “We are writing to you as people who care deeply about this country, its global influence and the values that define us as a country.
“The European convention on human rights (ECHR) and the UN convention against torture are at the heart of [Britain’s] legacy. They have saved lives, delivered justice and shown the world that Britain leads not by fear, but by principle. Any attempt at undermining their universal protections is an affront to us all and a threat to the security of each and every one of us.”
The letter adds: “In accordance with hundreds of years of proud global leadership Britain must remain steadfast in upholding and championing our shared right to live a life free from torture, without exception. This means resisting any attempts to roll back vital protections and demanding accountability for perpetrators without fear or favour. We are looking to you to choose a future in which our country continues to stand tall for dignity, justice, humanity and hope.”
The letter claims that changes in interpretation of article 3 on torture will prompt other authoritarian countries to take more drastic and damaging action.
“This moment is bigger than politics. It is about what kind of nation we want to be and what kind of world we want to live in. Will Britain remain a beacon of human rights and the rule of law, or signal to authoritarian states across the globe that these cardinal principles can be abandoned?” it says.
Veronika Fikfak, a professor of international law at University College London, wrote that a change to article 3 “touches the very core” of the convention. “Prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment is an absolute right. It allows for no balancing. There is no margin of appreciation for states, nor any deference to them.”
Other signatories include the impressionist Rory Bremner, the actor Brian Cox, the fashion designer Bella Freud and the former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve. Others who have signed the letter include the novelists Victoria Hislop and Alan Hollinghurst; the comedians Ben Elton, Nish Kumar, Miles Jupp and Alexei Sayle; the journalist John McCarthy; and the actors David Morrissey, Juliet Stevenson, Harriet Walter and Samuel West.
The letter was sent to Downing Street on Tuesday, the day before International Human Rights Day. It was compiled by the pressure group Freedom From Torture.
Article 3 of the ECHR is an “absolute” right, meaning there are no exceptions in which torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment could be permitted.
It prevents the UK from deporting or extraditing people to another country where they would face a real risk of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Lammy will meet ministers from 45 other countries to discuss possible changes at the meeting on Wednesday.
Nine member states, including Italy and Denmark, signed a letter in May calling for the scope of the ECHR to be limited.
“We believe that the development in the court’s interpretation has, in some cases, limited our ability to make political decisions in our own democracies,” the letter said.
A government spokesperson said: “As the prime minister has said repeatedly, pulling out of the ECHR would be completely self-defeating – undermining every international agreement we have signed on national and border security.
“But we do believe the way these international treaties are implemented has to evolve to reflect modern challenges, specifically mass migration, which is why the prime minister has raised this at international forums to build consensus about what ECHR reform could look like.”
