GB News host Matthew Goodwin has challenged former Attorney General Dominic Grieve over the effectiveness of the European Convention on Human Rights, questioning whether the UK's ruling class appears "completely adrift from where public opinion is" leaving the former politician to brand the views "rubbish."
The exchange comes as Attorney General Lord Hermer drew controversy by comparing calls to leave international courts with Nazi Germany in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute on Thursday.
Speaking on GB News Matthew Goodwin asked: "If you compare, for example, let's look at countries such as New Zealand, Canada, Australia, none of which obviously are all Anglosphere countries, none of which in the OECD, none of which would seem like they're a Nazi state in any serious way.
"Iceland has obviously broken international law over issues such as fishing. There's widespread unhappiness with the ECHR across much of Europe, where states on both the left and the right are now very unhappy with how the ECHR is being used to block the deportation of foreign criminals and illegal migrants from their country.
Matthew Goodwin has challenged former Attorney General Dominic Grieve
GB NEWS
"Do you not worry, Dominic Grieve that the ruling class in this country, the international legal class, does look completely adrift from where public opinion is?"
Dominic Grieve responded: "No, I don't worry that we look completely adrift from where public opinion is, because public opinion on this subject tends to focus on 1 or 2 specific points.
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"And there are many benefits from being having membership of the ECHR. And I also happen to think the ECHR isn't perfect. And interestingly, if you go and look at the speech made by Lord Homer.
"There's a big section in it about how the ECHR is not in itself perfect, and there may be areas which could do with reform.
"Or indeed there may be areas where in fact its application in this country, particularly over the issue of deportation of foreign criminals, may be being misinterpreted, which is something which the government could legitimately do something about.
"It's really important in these debates that one actually looks at, firstly what people say rather than just getting carried away. And secondly, that one actually has some sort of understanding of how the rules work around an international convention."
Matthew said: "I'm very aware of how the works. I've studied the ECHR and indeed the case for leaving it in some detail.
"The reality is, as you know, because of article three and article eight in the ECHR we are not able to control our borders and deport foreign criminals and illegal migrants who make individual appeals to the EC, which is entrenched in UK law through the Human Rights Act.
"If we want to stop the small boats and we want to regain our territorial sovereignty. We need to leave the ECHR."
He responded: "No. That's rubbish." Matthew said: "It is not rubbish it is a view."
Attorney General Lord Hermer drew controversy by comparing calls to leave international courts with Nazi Germany in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute on Thursday.
PAHe responded: "No. That's rubbish." Matthew said: "It is not rubbish it is a view."
He said: "Are you going to listen to me or not? It's rubbish."
Matt: "Well, I'm sorry, Dominic Grieve. You're the person who said my view was rubbish. It was an opinion you happened to disagree with."
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