European police will be barred from cooperating with UK if Boris Johnson waters down Human Rights Act

The prime minister is considering tearing up the Human Rights Act and suspending the European Convention on Human Rights

European police and courts will be barred from cooperating with their British counterparts if Boris Johnson follows through on his threat to water down human rights law, Brussels has said.

The European Commission has made human rights a red line in negotiations with the UK and said any security agreement would include an “automatic termination” clause tied to the UK keeping the Human Rights Act.

It was reported on Wednesday that the prime minister is planning to rewrite the 1998 Act and potentially even suspend the UK’s membership of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), using a recent stabbing in South London as his pretext.

But in its negotiating mandate, published this week, Brussels said such a move would result in UK courts and police forces being locked out of cooperation with EU systems.

“The envisaged partnership should provide for automatic termination of the law enforcement cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters if the United Kingdom were to denounce the European Convention of Human Rights,” the Commission’s draft mandate says.

“It should also provide for automatic suspension if the United Kingdom were to abrogate domestic law giving effect to the ECHR, thus making it impossible for individuals to invoke the rights under the ECHR before the United Kingdom’s courts.”

The stipulation is the latest example of how EU policy preferences will continue to affect Britain after Brexit, even though the country is not a member and no say in formulating them.

Under the ECHR, citizens of signatory countries can appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if they feel their rights have been breached. The only country in Europe not a signatory is Belarus, an authoritarian dictatorship.

The Human Rights Act was passed in 1998 by the UK government and writes ECHR rights into domestic law, meaning people in Britain can appeal to UK courts over breaches of their rights without having to go to Strasbourg. The act also makes it unlawful for any public body, such as the police, to breach human rights.

The Sun newspaper reported on Wednesday that ministers want to rip out provisions from the Human Rights Act protecting the right to life and the right to family life.

They are also open to suspending the UK’s membership of the ECHR entirely, it was reported. Asked about the possibility of suspending the convention, Mr Johnson’s spokesperson said: “We are going to ensure that we will bring forward the necessary legislation to protect the public because that’s the right thing to do.”

The PM’s chief advisor, Dominic Cummings, is said to be pushing for a suspension of the ECHR. He has previously called for a referendum on the UK’s membership.