Winston Churchill would have been sacked by Prime Minister David Cameron today because he believed in human rights, a senior Labour MP has claimed.
Sadiq Khan, the shadow justice secretary, launched an attack on Conservative calls to scrap the Human Rights Act at Labour’s conference in Manchester.
Senior Tory figures have demanded reform of the rules amid anger at rulings made in the European Court of Human Rights, such as giving prisoners the vote.
In his keynote address to delegates, he said: “They want to strip people of their rights and make our justice system the preserve of the rich.
“Tories rubbing their hands at the prospect of governments free to ride roughshod over the sick, the elderly, the disabled and the vulnerable.
“Enlightened Tories who get this, like Dominic Grieve, have been sacked. Forgetting that without enlightened Tories like Winston Churchill, Europe wouldn’t have the human rights we have today.
“If Churchill were a minister today, David Cameron would have sacked him for his views on human rights. Showing how you can’t trust the Tories to protect people’s rights.”
Mr Khan said Labour’s “first battle” would be to halt Conservative attempts to reform the rules.
“Yes, let’s get the European Court working better. But I say to you Mr Cameron, we’ll stop you stripping the British people of their rights,” he said.
“We’ll block attempts to abolish the Human Rights Act – Labour’s Human Rights Act.”