Cameron: Burglars have no human rights
Monday 1st February 2010, 7:53AM GMT.
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David Cameron says burglars “leave their human rights outside” the moment they break in to someone else’s property.
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Hear, Hear! If they want Human Rights, let them learn Human Responsibilities, too!
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Blatant electioneering. He has no intention of removing Human Rights at all. The alternatives are removal of the rights to freedom from torture, or the right to a fair trial. What are we left with then? We become a state where the fundamental legal principles developed over hundreds of years are discarded. Why bother with innocent until proven guilty, or the police, courts, juries, judges or prisons? Why not just allow street justice, stonings, floggings and lynch mobs. Mr Cameron is talking through his backside to appeal to the populist vote. Take away Human Rights and the alternatives are too awful to comprehend for this country.
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Never thought I’d hear a politician actually say something sensible that the voters agree with!
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here here
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so therefore to take it to it’s logical conclusion Burglars are therefore not humans? this is insanity….address the root causes of burglary – poverty, under education, drugs…. trying to solve the problem from the wrong end simply means that the problem changes…treat the root causes and it may take longer to get there but it will be sustainable for far longer with far better results, after all would you prefer to be not burgled, or to be burgled however you know the perpetrator is going to get a hefty punishment – I prefer to not be a target of crime in the first instance myself.
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i agree – hang them all
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So what about my human right to relax in my home without wondering if some scumbag is going crowbar the front door open and then take said crowbar to my head? If you do the crime you should pay the price – yes address the root causes but not then dispose of the punishment route because some criminals will never learn even if solve all their problems for them
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What Matt said!
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Anybody breaks into my house and threatens my children/partner they are going to get it big style wether a politician says its ok or not.
if 5, and 2, want to sit in their bedrooms at 3am trying to rehabillitate some crazed smack head by talking to them about their unsettled childhood then thats up to them.
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The more David Cameron opens his Etonian mouth the further back we retreat as a civilised society.
We have a justice system that tries, not always successfully but at least attempts to deal with fairness, a world that is not black and white.
I wouldn’t like to have to account for my actions should I or my family be threatened but everyday that happens on our roads for instance where supposedly intelligent people sometimes break the law and put us all at risk. Do they lose their human rights too Mr Cameron? Everyday people die through other peoples dangerous or careless driving.
Perhaps as an analogy to burglary it doesn’t seem as pre-meditated but the perception of threat can be the same, cars usually being as valuable as anything we possess worth stealing in our homes and damage to us physically is the worst that can happen.
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eva land is into the usual diatribe again but at least now we get what is really at the heart of his/her psyche. “Class” envy, jealousy and pure downright chip on the shoulder. Now let us look at the what the opposites to “his Etonian mouth” has given us is terms of “retreating as a civilised society”. ie the Labourite “Secondary Modern” types.
(a) Burglars, thieves, violent criminals and the scum of the earth detected by Police, convicted by the courts and given a £1 out of the poor box by comrade Brown and company who has told the courts not to send them to prison.
(b) the “surveillance society” par excellence where almost every second of our public wanderings are under scrutiny from millions of CCTV cameras.
(c) unlimited timescale for the DNA of innocent people to be kept on a Police database.
(d) People kept in custody (prison) without being convicted of a criminal offence, without being told of what they are accused, of what the evidence against them is and when or if they will be released.
(e) originally wanting suspects to be locked up for how many days, was it 30, (which old Etonian Cameron objected to) but had to water it down to again shorter but unaceptable levels.
(f) passing the most restrictive, the most abused by the Police and the most anti civil rights legislation ever known where innocent people taking tourist photos are arrested, where innocent people are ejected from political meetings etc etc etc, all under the provisions of The Prevention Of Terrorism Act which is now applied by Councils spying on their tenants to see if they are living in sin or a host of other non criminal matters.
This Labour Government will go down in history as the most authoritarian and the biggest abuser of civil rights in our history and the above are just a few of the abuses of our civil and human rights which can be laid at their door. There are many, many more.
Now we have the idiocy of equating a burglar in a dwelling house confronting the resident owner on a par with Road Traffic Offences purely caused by an unforeseen accident.
Right, evaland, we know by now you don’t like the Tories, but please, please, please get your facts right before committing yourself to print.
The sooner the EU Human/Civil rights legislation is watered down, the better our society will be.
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i totally agree with Dave Cameron, if brown as pm wants to win votes he needs to come up with more populist stuff like this, i would suggest a ban on immagration and a return to the death penalty are two easy wins which would get new labour back in power easy
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Spencer.
I have no intention of talking to anyone about their childhood or anything else if they burgle my house. I expect them to get arrested. I expect forensic evidence in the form of fingerprints and DNA to be gathered. If there is sufficient evidence I expect the CPS to advise on appropriate charging and the police to make recommendations about bail. If the police refuse bail I expect that decision to put before a court. Ultimately I expect a court to form an opinion as to whether or not the person I allege or believe to have broken into my house is guilty. If guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt then that person will be convicted and sentenced. Human rights are merely the fundamentals of our law, not some EU directive to be resisted at all costs. If Mr Cameron is prepared to discard such fundamentals then he brings shame on himself and his party. But he is not. He’s merely banging the populist and tabloid drum without thinking about the broader view…and he wants to be prime minister?
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Suellan, I live on a somewhat ropey estate. Crime is common and at times I feel like a car radio dealer having donated so often to the local economy. I certainly don’t find it difficult to relax and nor do I worry about my property being crow barred. Most burglars are seeking a means to an end. The majority want to avoid confrontation with householders at all costs (they’re often in no fit state to fight or run). When Mr Cameron and the Conservative Party bang their anti Human Rights Act drum my simple observation (to anyone who has access to the Internet or a good library) is look the HRA up. It contains nothing controversial. The Conservatives suggest it’s a criminal’s charter but produce no evidence to back that up. The Act protects all of us. It is mainly there for those who uphold the law. Those Articles that relate to individuals accused of crime are principles we have held dear in this country for hundreds of years. Look it up. It’s actually a marvellous piece of legislation that incidently would not have existed were it not for Churchill.
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as a floating voter im now more inclined to cameron because hes on the side of me and my family, the government is always against me, i am pleased to see someone standing up for real people who dont want red tape, they just want justice, even if its mob justice thats good justice for me
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Simon, Then all you will end up with is an empty house and a crime number for insurance purposes because house breakers don’t tend to wait around for the police to arrive, and tend to wear gloves these days.
I just hope for your sake that you are not at home when they come calling. Sorry about the cliche but ” What about MY human rights”..
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#13 Simon thank you for your common sense and intelligent comment.
Stuart you have let yourself down again.
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They have more rights than the person they burgal. See what happens to you if you catch a burglar in your home and defend your property, the chances are the householder will be done for assault.
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Whats so un-intelligent about wanting to protect your family against intruders,
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So, Mr. Cameron, does that include any right to life? Do you want householders killing burglars?
Cameron’s brand of politics is even more low brow than Tony Blair’s. He’s trying to appeal to the vacuous, knuckle-dragging community who think that pointless soundbites and smarmy grins make for a decent politician and a worthy candidate for prime minister.
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Simon so when confronted by a burglar in your bedroom at three in the morning. you will say ” carry on my good chap we will have the police and courts sort this one out at a later date” I have never heard such lily livered codswallop in my life. If it wasn’t so pathetic it would be laughable.
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Simon,If, God forbid, a burglar enters my house in the middle of the Night I am unable to defend my family. Anyone in this situation would think of their’s and their familys safety before that of the law’s.
Put it in to reality, if this was your family what would you do?
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@ VV. Anybody who has ever voted will be fully aware of the smarmy propaganda and spin delivered by politicians in the months leading up to a general election, and i don’t think that any of the people on this thread will care who is Prime minister when confronted by an intruder in their property.
Although if it gives you the pretence of being of a higher level of intelligence than the ” knuckle-draggers” who chose to defend their families then fair enough.
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Re’ TC #5, how many times do we hear of criminals who are ‘rehabilitated’ but re-offend, time and time and time again. Trying to address the root cause is a weak excuse for avoiding delivery of real punishment. Why should we waste time and money trying to help and ‘rehabilitate’ these offenders? Make prison a truly miserable existence. No benefits. No perks. No comforts. Nothing. If criminals want human rights then earn the right to keep them. Abuse them and you lose them. Surely, this is enough of a deterrent to criminals. Then the likelihood of being a victim is reduced. This is isn’t rocket science…
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Stuart,
I had been waiting for someone to mention the EU in the context of this thread, and you turned up right on cue.
Our human rights legislation has nothing to do with the EU. It is based upon rulings from the European Court of Human Rights, which was established in the aftermath of World War 2, to ensure that the sorts of human rights abuses seen during that conflict could never occur again.
It pre-dates the EU, and is overseen by the Council of Europe (again – not part of the EU, despite popular misconception), whose members include many EU nations, and many who are not, including Switzerland, Russia, and the Balkan states.
So nowt to do with the EU…
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I think that there is a fair sprinkling of Labourite steryotypes in this stream, never mind the factual details what are pointed out to people who just pluck idiocy out of the air. If eva-land would like to look at mine again at 11. perhaps he/she would tell me where “I have let myself down again”. I don’t come out with unintelligent silliness, I answer that and come out with facts and perhaps eva-land can tell me what is not a fact in mine at no 11. Have you heard of the cliche, “pot calling” etc eva-land. If Clown had said what Cameron said, Clown would be a bigger idol to you than what he is now and for that fact, I wouldn’t admit that I was a Labour supporter after what they have done to our criminal Justice sytem and our Civil/Human Rights.
If anyone, man or woman finds a burglar in their home and is able to retaliate and doesn’t, they should be ashamed and there are a few here who should wear that hat.If a burglar comes into my home and I find him, no laws apply, no legal niceties will be considered and it is each for himself, someone will end up seriously hurt and I hope it is not me.
Any of these left wing liberal s will soon change their tune if they are part human and one day find their own house burgled, ransacked and wrecked as I have seen on many occasions.
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Of course this is electioneering, anyone can see that, but he’s a politician so his words and promises count for little. However, he is obviously attempting to tap into a very rich vein – this being that ordinary, decent, hardworking people are sick to the back teeth of the softly softly approach to crime and punishment which must take a large share of the blame for the mess we now find ourselves in.
By all means look at treating the root causes of the problem, but isn’t that just yet another initiative on the back of countless others which have had little or no effect? If it works – great, but it will surely take generations to resolve which leaves us with the existing, ongoing problems for who knows how long.
I would never advocate the return of capital punishment in any way, shape or form and would find it difficult to live in a society which allows this. However, I absolutely will not allow any criminal pondlife entering my property without my permission, to leave without vigorous challenge.
It’s way past the time that their apologists remove their rose tinted glasses, come back to reality and accept that the liberal approach hasn’t worked.
Cameron for all his faults is therefore totally correct in stating “burglars leave their human rights outside the moment they break into someone else’s property”. It’s just a pity that they’re words only.
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Ben you are going off track slightly but as you raised the subject all householders (indeed all citizens) have the right to defend themselves and those they care about. As long as they can demonstrate that they use such force as is reasonable and necessary at the time. Such a claim would normally need to be tested in a court of law using the right to a fair trial. That is a fundamental of our law; namely fairness and tranparency, and also a fundamental of the Human Rights Act. But if Mr Cameron suggests taking away human rights for burglars where will he stop. Ultimately that road leads to other alleged offenders (including the householder who attacks a burglar) being denied those same rights. Indeed the aggrieved family of the attacked burglar would, using the logic of some earlier posts, be able to inflict their own justice unhindered by principles and standards of law.
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David Day
If you assaulted a burglar in defence of your family and property you would hope that the law would recognise why you had done so and that it would deal with you as a person rather than just a violent individual. It is one of the many things human rights are about. The Human Rights Act includes the fundamental British recognition of the right to a fair trial. That applies to all of us and cannot be cherry picked in a civilised society. Lily livered codswallop or true and established British justice. Would you be so dismissive if you too were denied such rights?
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Cameron is a hypocrite! The CONservatives are just as much to blame as Liebour for creating the horrible broken society we now live in.
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“Why, you cad I hope you realise that you will have forfeited your human rights by this ungracious behaviour”
“Oh thank the Lord, I thought you was going to ‘it me Squire, and there’s me & the missus ‘aving 7 mouths to feed and another on the way”
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I agree with 13, and as for 16 then if thats the price I must pay to preserve human rights then it’s worth it to me my posessions are never, ever worth eroding human rights for, even if that human has acted malicisouly toward sme – yes I may feel differnetly had they raped or killed my daughter however their punishment will come through our justice system, whcih is in place to prevent individuals handing out punishments they see best fit crimes against them personally. I will far more benefit from human rights legislation than if it is continually eroded in the way Cameron advocates. – and BTW I have been burgled, I stayed upstairs, on the phone with the police – there is no way I would have confronted the burglar – they can have my possessions, insured or not – I’m not risking my life to try to get them – I can’t beleive the vast majority of burglars would take the time to bash the locked bathroom door down in an effort to come after me who hasn’t seen them, putting themselves in a place where they have to commit a violent crime which wasn’t their initial intention – get a grip.
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