Oral Answers to Questions

Susan Murray Excerpts

Wednesday 14th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

The hon. Lady is right to point out the deeply worrying rise in tech-facilitated abuse. In July, I hosted a roundtable with the CPS, police and third sector, specifically to focus on tech-facilitated violence against women and girls. The CPS will publish a dedicated action plan on tech-facilitated violence against women and girls, building on its VAWG strategy, which was published last November.

[Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

7. What steps she is taking to ensure the UK meets its legal obligations under the European convention on human rights.

[The Attorney General (Ellie Reeves)]

The Government are clear that it is firmly in the UK’s interests to remain a member of the European convention on human rights. The ECHR has allowed people to object when “do not resuscitate” orders are put on their beds without their consent, and it is the reason why victims of rapists such as John Warboys have been able to force the police to investigate rather than being turned away. That is why I will continue to defend the ECHR, and why the UK played a leading role in the Chiinău declaration, working to modernise the ECHR with our European partners.

[Susan Murray]

The Conservatives and Reform want to leave the ECHR—a convention Winston Churchill championed—putting us alongside Russia and Belarus. Does the Attorney General agree that that is no place for a country that helped to write it?

[The Attorney General]

Our commitment to the ECHR is clear. It plays an important role in all aspects of our life, including in the Good Friday agreement, for example, which would unravel without it. It is important that we ensure that we modernise where necessary, but our commitment is steadfast.