ECHR exit ‘would breach Good Friday Agreement’

However, the context for the letter is the call among some Conservative MPs to withdraw from the ECHR or hold a referendum on withdrawal.

The committee said: “Given the convention is embedded in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, written into the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and determines how the Northern Ireland Assembly legislates, we note that Northern Ireland is often overlooked whenever the prospect of ECHR withdrawal is raised.”

The evidence it heard from legal experts included analysis that withdrawal would affect cross-border collaboration in criminal investigations and have other practical implications for policing.

The experts also said it is unlikely the UK could withdraw from the ECHR without triggering a review procedure built into the Good Friday Agreement.

If so, the UK and Irish governments, as parties to the Agreement, would be required to conduct a review in consultation with the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Committee chairman Sir Robert Buckland said: “Given the imminent Prorogation of Parliament, I wanted on behalf of my committee to put these points and concerns on the record.

“So this and the next administration, and others with an interest in human rights law in this country, might understand clearly the UK-wide context – the context of both Great Britain and Northern Ireland – in which the ECHR operates.”