EU court rules French prisoner vote ban legal

Britain's government previously rejected calls from European judges to amend its own legislation barring prisoners from voting

The European Court of Justice found Thierry Delvigne's loss of voting rights was in line with EU law (AFP/Getty)

France's imposition of an automatic lifetime voting ban on people convicted of certain offences is legal, the European Union's top court has ruled.

In a case being watched closely in Britain, where the Government has rejected calls from European judges to amend its own legislation barring prisoners from voting, the European Court of Justice found that Thierry Delvigne's loss of voting rights when convicted in 1988 was in line with EU law.

More to follow.

Reuters