The first ministers of Scotland and Wales have agreed to work together to fight UK Government plans to repeal the Human Rights Act.
Nicola Sturgeon and Carwyn Jones, issued a joint statement following a meeting in Edinburgh yesterday.
The statement said repealing the act would send out a message to the world that the UK was not a place that priorities and respects international standards of human rights.
It was clear that UK ministers had given “absolutely no thought” to the implications such a move would have for devolved government in the UK with human rights embedded in the devolution settlements for Scotland and Wales and the Good Friday Agreement, it said.
“Both our governments are fundamentally opposed to this regressive move and will do everything we can to resist it,” the statement said.
The two politicians said they also were strongly committed to making the positive case for the UK to remain within the EU.
Ms Sturgeon said: “In Scotland we are proud of our stance on human rights – and I am clear that any reduction in current human rights safeguards will threaten fundamental freedoms to which everyone in a modern democratic society is entitled.
“I have already set out that we see the European Union as vital for our economy and we will make an overwhelmingly positive case for continued membership.
“We also agreed that any decision to leave the EU, taken against the wishes of the people of Wales or Scotland, would be unacceptable and steps must be taken to ensure this does not happen.”
Ms Sturgeon has called for a “double majority” in the EU referendum so that each devolved part of the UK must agree to leave the UK for it to take place.
Mr Jones said: “It would be wholly wrong to change the constitutions of Wales and Scotland by repealing the Human Rights Act without the consent of the two countries.”