Starmer urges Europe’s leaders to update ECHR to halt rise of far right

Exclusive: PM calls for members of European convention on human rights to allow tougher action to protect borders • We must protect our borders to defend our democracies – and that means the ECHR must change

We must protect our borders to defend our democracies – and that means the ECHR must change

Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to urgently update joint human rights laws so that member states can take tougher action to protect their borders and see off the rise of the populist right across the continent.

Before a crucial European summit on Wednesday, the prime minister urged fellow members to “go further” in modernising the European convention on human rights (ECHR) to prevent asylum seekers using it to avoid deportation.