Starmer Slammed by Own MPs as Loopy Human Rights Laws Let Offenders Stay in UK

Sir Keir Starmer is under growing pressure from within his own party to crack down on human rights laws that have “blocked the removal of foreign criminals” — including cases where offenders were allowed to stay in the UK for bizarre reasons like their children refusing to eat “foreign chicken nuggets.”

A group of Labour MPs from the so-called “Red Wall” have urged the Prime Minister to back reforms to how UK courts interpret the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) — particularly Article 8, which guarantees the right to a private and family life.

Controversial rulings under Article 8 have allowed foreign offenders to remain in Britain, citing reasons ranging from potential depression in their homeland to their children’s dietary preferences. The rulings have sparked outrage among voters and MPs alike, with many now demanding the government reclaim control over the nation’s borders and immigration policies.

Jonathan Brash, MP for Hartlepool, told The Telegraph: “Ministers must make sure the law is being applied in a way that is in our interests as a nation.”

“It’s a perfectly in-order thing to do – and to me, it’s the right thing to do. They should be looking at all avenues,” he added.

Brash, echoing a growing frustration among Labour voters in northern England, didn’t call for the UK to leave the ECHR outright, but said Britain should consider tightening how its courts apply it — following the lead of countries like Denmark.

“The asylum system is broken, immigration is far, far too high, and they’re right to look at all the options to get the level of control we want,” Brash said. “It’s not an extreme view to say that we’d like good border control and sensible, proportionate levels of immigration… Anyone who thinks that’s an extreme view frankly is out of touch with what the British people want right now.”

His colleague, Connor Naismith, MP for Crewe and Nantwich, also expressed concern that the influence of external rulings is weakening trust in UK politics.

“People tell me that they don’t feel like their politicians can really change things. The truth is they’re not entirely wrong,” he said. “Artificial structures and outsourced decisions have limited our democracy – and the Prime Minister is right to take this on.”

An ECHR-focused briefing is set to take place in Parliament on Monday, led by barrister experts and organised by Dan Carden, MP for Liverpool Walton, a member of the influential “Blue Labour” group pushing for stronger national sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is reviewing Article 8’s application in court rulings. She has received support from Pendle & Clitheroe MP Jonathan Hinder, who wrote: “Yvette Cooper is right to at least be considering how some of its articles are being applied in the courts.”

“When the voters say: ‘We want the Government to reduce illegal migration,’ it is entirely reasonable for them to think that the elected governments of these islands can deliver that,” Hinder added.

With pressure mounting and public frustration boiling over, the question now is whether Starmer will act decisively — or let the chicken nugget ruling be the symbol of a system many believe is out of control.