EXCLUSIVE: Inside look at Suella Braverman's six-point plan to leave ECHR: 'Delighted to share with GB News!'

Brexiteers view Britain's membership of the ECHR as the key stumbling block to addressing these fundamental challenges.

Previously, the People's Channel busted the harmful myths that persist around the Strasbourg court as calls grow louder for Britain to forge its own path.

Now, the former home secretary has worked with GB News and the Stand for Our Sovereignty campaign to provide clarity on her first detailed study into the mechanics of how this could be done.

Speaking exclusively to the People's Channel, Braverman said:

“I’m delighted to work with GB News and Stand for Our Sovereignty for the first in-depth review of this landmark paper, which I am launching this morning, on leaving the ECHR. Amongst other things, it is essential that we rewrite the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in order to leave the ECHR as one single United Kingdom to restore our sovereignty.

“With this first detailed review of the paper I am presenting this morning, the readers of GB News will have an exclusive insight into the critical question of ‘the how’ rather than simply ‘the why’ we must leave ECHR.”

The six-point plan

The former Home Secretary sets out six actionable steps that she argues would trigger an orderly withdrawal from the ECHR, together with a set of coordinated measures which are necessary.

These are:

 
1. Invoke Article 58 of the ECHR, which begins the six-month countdown to leaving
2. Prepare our domestic legal framework for the end of the ECHR, through a Bill to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 and a temporary Case Law Review Commission under a sunset clause to examine what Strasbourg-influenced case law should be retained
3. Amend the Devolution Settlements, to remove reference to the ECHR
4. Amend references (principally in Part 3 only) to the ECHR in the UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement, ideally negotiating technical amendments to replace these
5. Amend the Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), the Northern Ireland Protocol, and the Windsor Framework
6. Clarify that a combination of the common law and statute provides ample protection of civil liberties in the United Kingdom.

As Braverman explains in her paper, a detailed plan is necessary to decouple Britain from the ECHR.

Alongside her co-author Guy Dampier from the Prosperity Institute, she wrote:

“Many of us have known for years that we need to leave the ECHR: to fix our borders, protect our national security, and restore sovereignty to the UK. But the debate has long been hampered by misunderstanding. That is why we have written this comprehensive plan on how to deliver this vital policy.”

Does it pass muster?

"It is clear that a great deal of homework has gone into this detailed plan on leaving the ECHR and restoring sovereignty to our legal system and to the United Kingdom," said Facts4EU (the think tank behind the Stand for Our Sovereignty campaign).

This included visits made by Braverman to both Strasbourg and Belfast.

There will now be an "uproar from a variety of quarters and all manner of warnings being issued, but the criticisms will have to be based on an equal amount of thought and preparation as appears to have gone into this document", the Eurosceptic think tank says.

Giving notice to the ECHR is the "easy part", Facts4EU continue, adding that her proposed plan "is comprehensive and deals with all the ancillary measures which will need to be taken", not the least of which being the status of Northern Ireland.

“This deals with the issues relating to the Belfast Agreement. What is crucial is that Northern Ireland must not be left behind and, just as the Belfast Agreement has been amended over the decades, it can be changed again. With credible political commitment, this plan can be delivered so that our laws are made by the UK Parliament, enforced by UK courts, all for the people of the UK," the think tank added.

As GB News explored previously, contrary to the widely-held opinion, the Belfast Agreement contains no obligation for the UK to be a member of the ECHR.

To this end, Braverman's plan involves a concerted period of consultation with the politicians and the communities of Northern Ireland as well as with the government of the Republic.

In regard to the EU, Braverman foresees a renegotiation to remove references to the ECHR in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

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Given the EU is not and never has been in a position to sign up to the ECHR itself, this places them in a "somewhat difficult" position to argue, argues Facts4EU.

Similarly with the Belfast Agreement, this has been amended many times, and the EU was itself responsible for its breach by insisting on the Northern Ireland Protocol and subsequent Windsor Framework, the think tank says.

The current status of Northern Ireland, insisted upon by the EU, was imposed without the consent of all the communities, in direct contravention of the principles of that agreement, Brexiteers claim.

In addition, despite many attempts over the past 25 or so years to rewrite history by Monsieur Barnier and the Commission and by Members of the EU Parliament, the EU never had any involvement in that agreement whatsoever.

"Suella Braverman’s solution is to negotiate robustly and inclusively with the Unionists, Nationalists, and the Republic and in the end to deal with the matter via domestic legislation to enact changes to the Northern Ireland Act," Facts4EU told GB News, adding: "One of the unique and unexpected aspects to the launch of the former Home Secretary’s plan on how to leave the ECHR is how it has commanded cross party support."

Who else has backed it?

Endorsing the report, Deputy Leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice MP, said: “This is a valuable and welcome policy paper on the vital objective of leaving the ECHR. Until we leave the ECHR, we are unable to save the UK from inexorable decline in so many important areas.”

A senior Unionist voice has written the foreword to the paper. Northern Ireland’s former First Minister of Northern Ireland Baroness Arlene Foster, said:

“This paper sets out, in forensic and principled detail, why the time has come for the UK to leave the ECHR. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly, but neither is it one that can be avoided any longer. Today, we are governed not only by the laws we make, but by the rulings of a foreign court that interprets its mandate ever more expansively - often in ways that contradict the will of the British people and the settled intent of their representatives.

“This paper provides a starting point for discussion and a pathway to restoring the primacy of our common law and the sovereignty of our Parliament, whilst also securing the integrity of the United Kingdom.”

GB News understands that Suella Braverman has also received messages of support from some Labour members.

You can check out the full report commissioned by the Property Institute here:

***The Prosperity Institute is owned by the Legatum Group. The Group is also one of the lead investors in the holding company of GB News.***