EU Referendum: Protection of Human Rights

Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
8.  What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the decision to leave the EU on the protection of human rights.

The Attorney General (Jeremy Wright)
I consider the best protection of fundamental rights in the United Kingdom to be UK law. I am, therefore, confident that the decision to leave the European Union will not result in any reduction in the protection of such rights in the United Kingdom.

Jeff Smith
We now have a Prime Minister who has advocated withdrawing from the European convention on human rights. Can the Attorney General confirm whether that will be Government policy?

The Attorney General
As the hon. Gentleman quite correctly observes, we have a new Prime Minister and we also have a new Secretary of State for Justice. Both have been in office for only a little over a week, so the hon. Gentleman will have to be a little more patient.