Stephen
Fry and Joanna Lumley among celebrities urging UK not to weaken torture
protections
Public
figures sign letter saying plan to reinterpret ECHR for asylum seekers is
‘affront to us all’ and a threat to security
Rajeev
Syal Home affairs editor
Tue 9 Dec
2025 17.08 CET
The
actors Michael Palin, Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley are among 21 well-known
figures calling on Keir Starmer to drop plans to weaken human rights law and
instead “take a principled stand” for torture victims, on the eve of a crucial
European summit.
As David
Lammy prepares to attend a Council of Europe meeting in Strasbourg that will
discuss legal changes to stop bogus asylum claims, the novelist Julian Barnes,
the actor Adrian Lester and the comedian Aisling Bea have also signed a letter
telling the prime minister: “Any attempt at undermining universal protections
is an affront to us all and a threat to the security of each and every one of
us.”
Lammy,
the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, is expected to argue on
Wednesday that the European convention on human rights (ECHR) could be
reinterpreted to limit the scope of rights under article 3, which prohibits
torture and “inhuman or degrading treatment”.
Under
sweeping changes announced last month by the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood,
the government said it wanted to introduce measures to stop asylum seekers
using their rights in the ECHR to a family life to avoid deportation. The
Conservative party and Reform UK have both called for withdrawal from the
convention altogether.
But
ministers have come under growing pressure from human rights campaigners,
Labour peers and some backbenchers to resist making changes, saying it would
open the door to countries abandoning some of the world’s most vulnerable
people.
The
letter, addressed to the prime minister, says: “We are writing to you as people
who care deeply about this country, its global influence and the values that
define us as a country.
“The
European convention on human rights (ECHR) and the UN convention against
torture are at the heart of [Britain’s] legacy. They have saved lives,
delivered justice and shown the world that Britain leads not by fear, but by
principle. Any attempt at undermining their universal protections is an affront
to us all and a threat to the security of each and every one of us.”
The
letter adds: “In accordance with hundreds of years of proud global leadership
Britain must remain steadfast in upholding and championing our shared right to
live a life free from torture, without exception. This means resisting any
attempts to roll back vital protections and demanding accountability for
perpetrators without fear or favour. We are looking to you to choose a future
in which our country continues to stand tall for dignity, justice, humanity and
hope.”
The
letter claims that changes in interpretation of article 3 on torture will
prompt other authoritarian countries to take more drastic and damaging action.
“This
moment is bigger than politics. It is about what kind of nation we want to be
and what kind of world we want to live in. Will Britain remain a beacon of
human rights and the rule of law, or signal to authoritarian states across the
globe that these cardinal principles can be abandoned?” it says.
Veronika
Fikfak, a professor of international law at University College London, wrote
that a change to article 3 “touches the very core” of the convention.
“Prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment is an absolute
right. It allows for no balancing. There is no margin of appreciation for
states, nor any deference to them.”
Other
signatories include the impressionist Rory Bremner, the actor Brian Cox, the
fashion designer Bella Freud and the former Tory attorney general Dominic
Grieve. Others who have signed the letter include the novelists Victoria Hislop
and Alan Hollinghurst; the comedians Ben Elton, Nish Kumar, Miles Jupp and
Alexei Sayle; the journalist John McCarthy; and the actors David Morrissey,
Juliet Stevenson, Harriet Walter and Samuel West.
The
letter was sent to Downing Street on Tuesday, the day before International
Human Rights Day. It was compiled by the pressure group Freedom From Torture.
Article 3
of the ECHR is an “absolute” right, meaning there are no exceptions in which
torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment could be permitted.
It
prevents the UK from deporting or extraditing people to another country where
they would face a real risk of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
Lammy
will meet ministers from 45 other countries to discuss possible changes at the
meeting on Wednesday.
Nine
member states, including Italy and Denmark, signed a letter in May calling for
the scope of the ECHR to be limited.
“We
believe that the development in the court’s interpretation has, in some cases,
limited our ability to make political decisions in our own democracies,” the
letter said.
A
government spokesperson said: “As the prime minister has said repeatedly,
pulling out of the ECHR would be completely self-defeating – undermining every
international agreement we have signed on national and border security.
“But we
do believe the way these international treaties are implemented has to evolve
to reflect modern challenges, specifically mass migration, which is why the
prime minister has raised this at international forums to build consensus about
what ECHR reform could look like.”
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