Tory MPs and ministers have hit out at the European Court of Human Rights after it issued a landmark ruling that governments have a duty to protect people from the effects of climate change.
Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said was "concerned" by the decision, saying that how we tackle climate change should be for "election politicians" to decide.
While former immigration minister Robert Jenrick slammed Strasbourg for what he dubbed an "expansionist doctrine", accusing it of "stretching its reach".
He dubbed the court's decision "profoundly undemocratic".
Tory MPs and ministers have hit out at the European Court of Human Rights after it issued a landmark ruling that governments have a duty to protect people from the effects of climate change
PA
The intervention from Jenrick and Coutinho came after judges from the ECHR ruled that the human rights of a number of elderly Swiss women had been violated by the Swiss Government's failure to act quickly enough to tackle climate change.
The government was found to have breached Article Eight of the ECHR, which enshrines the "right to respect for private and family life".
The ruling is binding to countries that have signed up to the convention and could mean people could sue for a breach of their human rights if the Government does not reach its net zero targets.
Reacting, Jenrick said: "This is the latest example of the expansionist doctrine practised by the justices of the Strasbourg Court.
By viewing the ECHR as a “living document” they continually stretch its reach in ways no signatory ever agreed to."
Writing on X, he added: "It’s profoundly undemocratic."
Meanwhile, Coutinho said: "I’m concerned by the Strasbourg Court decision. How we tackle climate change affects our economic, energy, and national security. Elected politicians are best placed to make those decisions."
Former Home Office minister Sarah Dines said: "The European Court of Human Rights has long ceased being a real court, having been transformed into a campaigning NGO promulgating questionable ideology by way of an equally questionable 'legal' facade.
"The sooner UK leaves it’s jurisdiction the better."
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick slammed Strasbourg for what he dubbed an "expansionist doctrine", accusing it of "stretching its reach"
PA
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Tory MP Danny Kruger also demanded the Government quit the convention, saying: “The Strasbourg court is setting itself up as a legislator in place of elected governments.
“The ECHR has been bent out of shape by activists and politicians who want to seem progressive and internationalist by junking both nations and democracy. We should leave.”
