Britain reviews human rights laws in major shake-up of asylum policy

UK toughens stance as polls point to immigration concern

French gendarmes on a boat approach a group of migrants travelling on an inflatable dinghy leaving the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain, from the beach of Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais, France, Aug 25, 2025. REUTERS

Britain will overhaul its approach to human rights laws to make it easier to deport migrants who arrive in the country illegally as part of a major shake-up of asylum policy to be set out on Monday.

Interior minister Shabana Mahmood will outline changes to how the European Convention on Human Rights will be interpreted by courts, the government said.

"These reforms will block endless appeals, stop last minute claims and scale up removals of those with no right to be here," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.

In what the government claims to be the most sweeping asylum policy overhaul of modern times, Mahmood will also announce plans to make refugee status temporary and to quadruple the length of time refugees will have to wait for permanent settlement in Britain.

Britain's Labour government is taking a tougher stance as it struggles to curb clandestine migration, particularly via small boat crossings. Polls indicate immigration is a top concern of voters, and the populist Reform UK party has a commanding lead in polls.

TOUGHER STANCE

The government said Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to a family life, was being misused by migrants to delay their removal from Britain.

It wants new laws to make clear that a family connection means immediate family, such as a parent or child, preventing people from "using dubious connections to stay in the UK".

It added that Britain would also work with like-minded countries to review the application of Article 3, which prohibits torture, noting the "definition of 'inhuman and degrading treatment' has expanded beyond what is reasonable."

The government has said it wants to remain in the European Convention on Human Rights, amid calls from Reform and some in the Conservative Party for Britain to leave it altogether.

However, the government's harder stance on immigration has been criticised by charities who say it forces desperate people further into destitution.

"These proposals will punish people who've already lost everything," said Sile Reynolds, Head of Asylum Advocacy at Freedom from Torture. "Stripping away protections that prevent people being sent back to their torturers is not who we are as a country."

Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, said Britain was a "fair, tolerant and compassionate country," but that in a more volatile world "people need to know our borders are secure."

The government added that there would also be reforms to streamline the appeals system, to fast-track the deportation of criminals and to prevent against misuse of modern slavery laws to impede removals.