FOREIGN crooks and failed asylum seekers could find it harder to stay in Britain as ministers review human rights loopholes.
The Home Office is looking into how judges use Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights – the “right to a family life” – to block deportations.
A Whitehall insider said: “We basically want to make sure it can’t be exploited after a small amount of cases where Article 8 has been interpreted pretty broadly.”
One case saw a foreign criminal avoid removal even though their spouse was dead.
Another let a Palestinian family stay under a visa scheme meant for Ukrainians.
The Sun understands officials are now looking at whether UK courts are too soft and if Britain should follow other countries in closing loopholes.
They are weighing up new guidance or even changing the law to speed up deportations and curb asylum claims.
Downing Street yesterday insisted the PM has been clear “it should be Parliament that makes the rules” and it should be “Government who makes the policy”.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman added: “The Home Secretary is continuing to review the application of Article 8 within the immigration system, and will set out further details in due course.”
The move marks a stunning shift for Sir Keir Starmer, a lifelong defender of the ECHR, who has repeatedly backed the court’s role in UK law.
Tory chief Kemi Badenoch last week said migrants should be banned from using human rights laws to fight deportation in the British courts.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This review is only happening because Kemi Badenoch put the Prime Minister under pressure about it at PMQs. Typical Keir Starmer: always too little, too late.
“If this government was serious about tackling immigration they would back our plans to disapply the Human Rights Act from all immigration matters, which would finally let us take back control of immigration. We will put this to a vote as the Borders Bill goes through Parliament – then we’ll see if Labour is actually serious about fixing the ECHR.”