"Former home secretary says Britain will not be in ‘same club’ as Russia and Belarus if it withdraws from treaty"
Telegraph: 20th January 2026: Report on Jack Straw's views on the ECHR [revealed in foreword of new report]
"...Mr Straw, who served under Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, dismissed this argument as “nonsensical”, insisting that leaving the ECHR voluntarily was different to being forced out...
Mr Straw said: “Those who want the UK to stay attached to the ECHR must do better than trot out the tired, indeed nonsensical, argument that if we were to leave we would be in the same ‘club’ as Belarus or Russia. It’s a ‘here be dragons’ argument, devoid of serious meaning.”
The Cabinet veteran made the comments in a foreword to a new report... which claims to dismantle the argument that withdrawing from the ECHR would align the UK with “authoritarian” states guilty of “gross violations of human rights”...
...Mr Straw has previously urged Sir Keir to back away from the European Court of Human Rights, arguing its rulings are of “lower quality” than those delivered by British judges..."