Former Labour Home Secretary Jack Straw has urged the UK to “decouple” from the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing that the treaty is being interpreted in ways never envisaged and now restricts the government’s ability to deport migrants. Lord Blunkett and other Labour grandees have echoed the call, sharpening pressure on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to revisit a pledge that the UK will remain a signatory. The proposal was swiftly rejected by the government front bench. EU relations minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said leaving the convention would place Britain “in a club with Russia and Belarus” and make it harder to secure international co-operation against people-smuggling. Downing Street reiterated that quitting or suspending the ECHR is “not in the national interest.” The row comes as the Home Office fights in the Court of Appeal to overturn an injunction blocking the use of the Bell Hotel in Epping as asylum accommodation. Officials said losing the 152 bed spaces would worsen pressure on a system that was housing 103,684 asylum seekers as of 31 March. Ministers warn that further local challenges could derail plans to close other migrant hotels within months, intensifying the political stakes over immigration policy.