Is Rishi Sunak really prepared to take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights?

The prime minister has hinted that he might be willing to renounce membership of the hallowed European court and the convention it oversees. But would he really do it, asks Sean O’Grady – and even if he did, could it help recover his party’s fortunes before the coming election?

It’s the first time Rishi Sunak has acknowledged, in effect, that membership of the convention is not necessarily compatible with his Rwanda plan to ‘stop the boats’ (PA)

In a subtle but arguably significant change in policy, Rishi Sunak has hinted that he would, if need be, lead the UK out of the 1951 European Convention on Human Rights if that’s what it takes to stop the small boats. He said: “I do believe that border security and making sure that we can control illegal migration is more important than membership of a foreign court because it’s fundamental to our sovereignty as a country.”

His announcement was made on The Sun’s Never Mind the Ballots podcast and has attracted some praise from Conservative MPs, but there may be less to the statement than meets the eye...

Why has Sunak said this?