A former court of appeal judge has been appointed to lead a review into how the Human Rights Act (HRA) is being interpreted in UK courts. Sir Peter Gross, who retired last year, will chair a panel of legal experts to examine the way in which judges rule on protections in the legislation.

Ministers allege it is being exploited inappropriately, in particular to prevent deportation of those categorised as “foreign-born criminals”. Labour’s justice spokesman, David Lammy, said the government was attacking human rights in the middle of a pandemic.

The HRA, introduced by the Labour government in 1998, incorporates rights established under the European convention on human rights – itself substantially the drafting work of British lawyers after the second world war.

There have been repeated Conservative party pledges at successive elections to remove or radically alter the act. The last manifesto in 2019 simply promised to “update” the HRA. The government’s approach is shifting towards looking at how the act operates rather than mounting a full-frontal attack on its existence.

However, civil rights groups fear the policy is aimed at severely limiting the scope of legal protections for asylum seekers, victims and other vulnerable groups.

The review will examine the relationship between UK courts and the European court of human rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg and whether dialogue between domestic courts and the ECHR works effectively. Read more via the Guardian