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Government commission exploring the case for a British bill of rights is divided between human rights act supporters and critics The government commission that will investigate the case for a British bill of rights is set to be deadlocked from the start, with its membership evenly split between human rights act supporters and sceptics. Sir Leigh Lewis, a veteran civil servant and former permanent secretary, is to head the controversial committee of high-level barristers jointly appointed by the Tories and the Liberal Democrats. The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, has appointed some of the most enthusiastic supporters of human rights, including Lord Lester, Baroness Kennedy and Philippe Sands. However, their views will be counterbalanced by those of Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, a Brunel University research fellow who has recently argued that Britain should cut its ties with the European court of human rights (ECHR), based in Strasbourg, as it has “virtually no democratic legitimacy”. However, the terms of the commission make it clear there will be no attempt to withdraw from the ECHR, stating that the commission will seek to “incorporate and build on” ECHR obligations and “ensure that these rights continue to be enshrined in UK law”. The commission – which is believed to have had a difficult birth after the chairmanship was turned down by Rachel Lomax, another ex-Whitehall mandarin and former deputy governor of the Bank of England – will provide an interim report to Clegg and the justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, next year. Other members of the commission include Martin Howe QC, Jonathan Fisher QC, Anthony Speaight QC, Pinto-Duschinsky and Sir David Edward. Fisher has been the most enthusiastic supporter of a British bill of rights in this group. Some Tories believe a system modelled on the US supreme court and constitution would work in the UK and help pave the way to a full pullout from the European convention on human rights and the Strasbourg court that rules on its provisions. Nick Clegg said: “Human rights are fundamental to our democracy. They act as a safeguard, protecting individual citizens from the state abusing its power. The commission’s work will help us maintain, and build upon, an enduring framework of fundamental rights that will prevent the abuse and erosion of these freedoms for generations to come.” Clarke, the justice secretary, said: “The commission has a very important role to play in examining the operation of the ECHR and how we implement human rights in the UK. I hope that this work will help to inform the debate on human rights at home and assist us as we continue to press for reform of the Strasbourg court.” Howe, a barrister specialising in intellectual property law, is a veteran eurosceptic and leading light of the Conservative party commission calling for a UK bill of rights to replace the ECHR. Fisher, a commercial lawyer specialising in tax and fraud, who also sat on the Tory party internal commission, is another human rights act sceptic. Speaight, in his own pamphlet, the Human Rights Act – Legal Pathways, spelled out the constitutional niceties of replacing the HRA with a UK bill of rights. On the other side of the argument is Lord Lester of Herne Hill, the leading Liberal Democrat human rights lawyer who campaigned for 30 years to make the ECHR directly enforceable in the British courts. Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, a Labour peer, is an expert in human rights law and civil liberties and was a key figure in the campaign to introduce the human rights act. Sands is a professor of international law, a Matrix Chambers barrister, and author of Lawless World and Torture Team. The final member is Edward, a Scottish appeal court judge who served on the European Court of Justice for 12 years. The chairman, Lewis, is a former permanent secretary at the Department of Work and Pensions and the Home Office. He has a strong reputation for delivering improved public services notably in passport offices and job centres. British bill of rights Human rights European court of human rights Court of justice of the European Union Nick Clegg Liberal Democrats Patrick Wintour Alan Travis guardian.co.uk