Attorney General Lord Hermer says human rights are vital to help build Britain's economy as he makes impassioned plea for skilled migration
Lord Hermer has claimed human rights are key to boosting economic growth.
The Attorney General told an event in the City of London that 'respect for rights has always been a critical component in both growth and the rule of law'.
He argued that people who felt 'secure in their rights' were more likely to 'participate in the economy, to start businesses, to take risks, and to innovate'.
His comments come amid mounting anger over the use of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to block deportations of illegal migrants and foreign criminals.
Lord Hermer has vowed to consider 'robust' changes to the way Article 8 of the ECHR, which concerns the right to private and family life, is interpreted by British courts.
Reform has said it will leave the Convention to make it easier to deport illegal migrants and the Conservatives are set to follow suit.
Ministers have also come under pressure from former Labour Home Secretaries Jack Straw and Lord Blunkett, who have called for the UK to 'decouple' from the treaty.
During his address yesterday, Lord Hermer defended Angela Rayner's Employment Rights Bill - which critics fear will cost businesses billions - by claiming it will make staff more productive.
Lord Hermer told an event in the City of London that 'respect for rights has always been a critical component in both growth and the rule of law'
He also attacked politicians who criticise individual judges as 'dangerous' and a threat to economic growth.
Sir Keir Starmer has described boosting growth as his 'number one mission' - even though Labour's tax policies are being blamed for a flatlining economy.
Lord Hermer suggested the defence of human rights should be considered as fundamental to the Government's broader economic agenda.
'A society governed by law is one in which human rights are respected, where individuals can challenge unfair treatment, and where the vulnerable are protected,' he said.
'These are not abstract ideals – they are practical necessities. When people feel secure in their rights, they are more likely to participate in the economy, to start businesses, to take risks, and to innovate.'
Sir Keir has come under heavy pressure to ditch the Employment Rights Bill, which Ms Rayner had championed before her resignation earlier this month over underpaid stamp duty.
The legislation, dubbed the 'Unemployment Bill' by critics, contains a raft of pro-union measures, including the right to switch off and entitlements for employees from the moment they start work.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith has warned Sir Keir that he must 'reduce the huge burdens' the Bill will place on business and water down plans that make it even easier to strike.
But Lord Hermer said: 'The extension of the rule of law into the realm of precarious employment by the Employment Rights Bill will make sure that more people are in good jobs, with improved prospects for their future,' he said.
'A valued workforce is a productive workforce – both are needed for a fair and prosperous society.
'Respecting human rights, through fair working conditions, ethical supply chains and protecting property rights: these create the vital conditions for growth and innovation.'
The peer also claimed skill migration had helped turned the City of London into an economic powerhouse.
'I would not want to end tonight without making a comment about another feature of the historical success of the City of London – which is how it has capitalised on integrating migrant communities for the benefit of all of this country,' he said.
Just as Lord Hermer gave his remarks last night, Labour's 'one-in, one-out' migrant returns deal was plunged into chaos as the High Court blocked ministers from sending a small-boat migrant back to France.
The ruling – the first challenge to the policy to reach court – is likely to pave the way for others at risk of deportation to bring copycat claims.
It could leave Labour's returns deal in legal limbo for months. The dramatic court ruling came after attempts to deport other migrants aboard two flights from Heathrow airport were blocked by separate last-minute legal actions.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, who predicted in Monday's Daily Mail that Labour's scheme would face a 'slew of legal challenges', said the plan was now 'clearly dead'.
'The Government's latest Channel migrant gimmick is now in complete disarray,' the Tory frontbencher said.
'Two flights, a legal defeat in court and zero deportations. Not a single migrant has been removed, yet thousands more continue to arrive.
'This plan is clearly dead. Vexatious human rights and modern slavery claims have ended it before it even started.'
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – who scrapped the Conservatives' Rwanda asylum deal as one of his first acts in office – previously claimed that his agreement with French president Emmanuel Macron would see migrants 'returned to France in short order'.
Labour was repeatedly warned that the ECHR, which is enshrined in domestic law by Labour's Human Rights Act, would prove to be a massive stumbling block to its proposals.
However, the Prime Minister has insisted that Britain will never leave the treaty.
