Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp attacks 'tyranny' of immigration judges and accuses some of 'evident bias' as he outlines radical Tory plans for reform

By DAVID BARRETT, HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR Published: 15:56, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 15:56, 16 June 2026 The Shadow Home Secretary has attacked the immigration courts’ ‘tyranny’ over the asylum system. Conservative frontbencher Chris Philp accused some immigration judges of holding ‘evident bias’ in favour of asylum seekers and foreign criminals who launch appeals against Home Office bids to deport them. He outlined a series of steps a future Tory government will take to ‘radically’ reform the entire system, including completely scrapping the immigration courts. He also vowed the Conservatives would begin moves to take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) ‘pretty much straight away’ after regaining power. In a speech in to the Policy Exchange think-tank in central London on Tuesday, Mr Philp said: ‘Politicians are not properly in control of the immigration system. The courts are. ‘The lack of parliamentary and ministerial control of the immigration system is undemocratic. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused the immigration courts of holding 'tyranny' over the asylum and immigration system, excluding elected politicians ‘It should not be up to unelected judges, and that is what is currently happening. ‘Radical and sweeping change is needed to end the tyranny of the courts and restore democratic control over immigration.’ He added: ‘Over the years Parliament has allowed the creation of a legal system that hands near unlimited power to judges to decide individual immigration cases, and the power to shape how the whole system operates through case law. ‘Judges have used that power over time to make the system more and more permissive, so illegal immigrants and foreign criminals often cannot be deported. ‘The consequence is that the UK becomes an attractive destination for illegal immigrants.’ In a speech to the Policy Exchange think-tank in central London on Tuesday Chris Philp said a future Tory government will scrap the immigration tribunals He added: ‘Some of the judges who make decisions on the tribunal are themselves extremely suspect. ‘A number have previously been or supported open borders campaigners. ‘Immigration tribunal judges have previously worked for open borders groups like Asylum Aid, Refugee and Migrant Justice, Refugee Action, and Safe Passage UK. ‘Needless to say, those organisations have no interest in border control whatsoever, as their names imply. ‘Given the evident biases of some tribunal judges, it's no surprise they've made some extraordinary decisions.’ UK judges interpret the ECHR in a way that is ‘often more expansive than their European cousins or even the judges in Strasbourg itself’, he said. Article 3 of the Convention – preventing torture, inhuman and degrading treatment - was originally drafted in the 1940s ‘to mean don't send people to concentration camps’, he said. But its interpretation has been extended to prevent one Zimbabwean sex offender back to his home country ‘because as a paedophile he might face hostility in Zimbabwe’, and to stop one Iraqi drug dealer being deported ‘because apparently he had become “too Westernised”’. ‘In my view that is totally unacceptable and it has to end,’ Mr Philp said. He described how as immigration minister under the previous government he had wanted to ‘raise the asylum threshold to make it harder to get asylum’ but was told there was ‘no point in doing so’, because migrants would simply win their case in the courts on human rights grounds. The Shadow Home Secretary outlined how the Conservatives will leave the ECHR and repeal Labour’s Human Rights Act which enshrines the treaty in domestic law. The immigration tribunal would be scrapped and the Tories would ‘completely abolish immigration legal aid’, he said. Mr Philp said he expected notice to leave the ECHR would be given ‘pretty much straight away’ after winning a general election. Your browser does not support iframes. A six month departure period set out in the treaty would give time for UK laws to be repealed, he went on. The Conservatives will complete preparatory work while in opposition ‘so we’re ready on day one,’ he said. The frontbencher repeated his pledge to deport illegal migrants ‘within seven days’, and said foreign countries would be persuaded to co-operate under the threat of having UK visas or foreign aid withdrawn. Leaving the ECHR would not make the UK a ‘pariah’ as some have suggested, Mr Philp insisted, pointing out ‘the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries’ operate outside the European treaty ‘all of whom are perfectly respectable’. Illegal migrants would no longer be able to claim asylum and ‘modern slavery’ laws – often used to dodge or delay deportation – would be scrapped. Last November Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood outlined plans to scrap the lower immigration tribunal and replace it with an internal Home Office appeals procedure, but no further details have yet emerged. Earlier this month a damning report by the Commons’ public accounts committee said her proposals suffered from a ‘lack of realism’, and warned Labour had ‘all but lost control’ of the asylum system. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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