Human rights laws are allowing offenders who have ‘fecklessly’ fathered children in Britain to avoid deportation, a top police chief said yesterday.
Stephen Watson’s comments come as both Labour and the Conservatives are finalising tough proposals on immigration, with ministers hoping to curtail the use of the European Convention on Human Rights by foreign criminals.
A new Bill will contain measures designed to restrict the use of the ‘right to private and family life’ under Article 8 of the ECHR.
Asked about its impact on policing in Britain, Sir Stephen said it wasn’t for him to point out what the legislative framework should look like but said Article 8 was often used by offenders to overturn deportation decisions.
‘It seems to me that is entirely unhelpful, particularly when people are simply claiming on the basis of having very often fecklessly fathered a number of children in our country, that they somehow shouldn’t be deported because they’ve got the right to a family life,’ he told the Policy Exchange think tank at a talk in London. ‘Well, I – and I suspect most of the public – beg to differ.’
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson claimed criminals are fathering children to avoid deportation
Sir Stephen said it wasn’t for him to point out what the legislative framework should look like
Labour’s crackdown will work in tandem with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plan for overseas ‘return hubs’ for foreign nationals with no right to be in the UK. Talks with Balkan nations including Kosovo and Moldova to establish hubs are ongoing.
Sir Stephen took over Greater Manchester Police in 2021 when the force was in special measures, but it has now been recognised as the country’s most improved force in three consecutive years under his leadership.
In the wide-ranging talk, the chief constable also called for non-crime hate incidents to be scrapped. Sir Stephen said the policy, where data is collected for incidents when no crime has been committed, was ‘past its sell-by-date’.
‘This is the antithesis of doing the basics,’ he said.
