Benedict Cumberbatch Really Doesn't Want The Tories To Scrap The Human Rights Act

The actor has taken part in a video series organised by human rights organisation Liberty to explain how the human rights act has helped Britons.

Benedict Cumberbatch has joined a list of celebrities to condemn the Conservative party for planning to scrap the Human Rights Act.

Mark Blinch / Reuters

Implemented in 2000, the Human Rights Act allowed British judges to decide human rights cases. But the Conservatives plan to scrap it and replace it with a British bill of rights later this parliament.

Although David Cameron said he planned to scrap the act within the first 100 days of the party being elected, the prime minister appears to have changed his mind after some Conservative MPs expressed their dissatisfaction with the plans and it did not feature in the Queen's Speech. Instead there will be a consultation, rather than a draft bill, on changing human rights law.

The human rights organisation Liberty has brought together celebrities for a film series, where they have narrated the stories of people whose lives have been helped by the human rights act.

The Sherlock star told the story of an ex-paratrooper who choked to death on his blood on the floor of a police station.

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The human rights act meant lawyers could force the government to admit that his human rights were ignored.

Cumberbatch said: “Our Human Rights Act belongs to all of us. It’s not for politicians to pick and choose when they apply or who deserves protection.

"Repealing it will mean less protection against state abuse or neglect, and weaken the rights of every single one of us – and the vulnerable most of all.”

Other celebrities that took part included actress Vanessa Redgrave, David Harewood, Vanessa Redgrave, Indira Varma and Simon Callow.

The Conservatives want to replace the human rights act with a British bill of human rights, to give the government more powers against foreign criminals.

Under current legislation, the government is often unable to deport terrorists or foreign criminals, and the party therefore wants to strip them of some of their human rights.

The key change is that the Conservatives want to make all judgements in the European courts advisory rather than binding on the UK, as is currently the case.

This is seen by many in Europe as a 'red line', which could lead to Britain withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights.