00:00of this legal application to Yvette Cooper.
00:05Well, first of all, good afternoon.
00:07Obviously a stain on our democracy and on our laws
00:11when we all know that Hamas is backed by Iran.
00:14Hamas are a terrorist organisation.
00:16They've been prescribed for very good reasons.
00:18They're part of a murderous regime.
00:20They murder and torture and brutalise innocent civilians
00:23and they are responsible for the atrocities that took place in Israel
00:27on the 7th of October, two years ago.
00:30So this is simply unacceptable.
00:32What I think is quite extraordinary, Emily, though,
00:34we've heard nothing from the British government,
00:37nothing from the department that I used to lead,
00:39a department where I basically took a very bold step forward
00:42to prescribe Hamas in all its forms
00:45because they are a threat to the security of our country.
00:48They're a threat to British citizens, British nationals.
00:50And also, as we can see, they're a threat to all nationals
00:54of peace-loving countries around the world.
00:56And those countries that stand up for Western values,
00:59freedom and democracy, free speech.
01:01And that is simply unacceptable.
01:03I think it is absolutely absurd that the so-called legal representatives
01:07representing this terrorist organisation
01:10are trying to pervert our own domestic laws
01:13to effectively unwind the prescription that I put in place
01:18that was backed, by the way, by Parliament
01:19and backed by many of our allies around the world,
01:23our defence and security allies.
01:25And that is something that I expect this government
01:28should speak about and stand firm over.
01:30This seems to be the strange thing here,
01:33that a legal firm in this country
01:35that seems to deal with asylum cases in its spare time
01:39is now using this appeals system
01:42against the will not only of the then Home Secretary,
01:47but also of Parliament itself.
01:49I mean, there is no higher law in the United Kingdom
01:52than a sovereign Parliament.
01:55When the Supreme Court tries to make decisions,
01:58they appeal to the will of Parliament,
02:00not the will of the government.
02:01Given that Parliament has backed this,
02:03how on earth is there anything to go on?
02:05So, look, you've just asked a very important question.
02:11As you can imagine, I've got some very strong views on this.
02:14As Home Secretary, I put forward many, many laws,
02:17you know, legislation on our statute books.
02:19I'm afraid not all governments have followed through
02:22on that legislation.
02:23But you've made a really important point.
02:25When I was Home Secretary,
02:26I constantly faced legal judgment
02:29by, quite frankly, left-wing lawyers.
02:30Lawyers, by the way,
02:32some of these organisations have supported Labour MPs
02:34and supported the Labour Party
02:37when it came to some of these asylum cases.
02:39I brought forward legislation,
02:41which I think your viewers should be reminded of,
02:43which would stop the abuse
02:44of our immigration courts and tribunals,
02:46where we had so-called asylum seekers,
02:48i.e. people that came to our country illegally
02:50and had no legal basis to remain in our country.
02:53They would go to the immigration courts and tribunals
02:55again and and again,
02:56basically trying to use the system
02:59to stay in our country.
03:00I brought forward laws to stop that,
03:02so we ended this merry-go-round.
03:04And now, of course,
03:05we've got the same lawyers,
03:07these so-called do-getting lawyers,
03:09these lawyers, basically,
03:11on the left,
03:12who are basically on the side of people
03:13that come to our country illegally,
03:15break our laws,
03:16don't even abide by our laws,
03:19let alone follow the laws of our lands
03:20and our country.
03:22These are legal representatives.
03:24I'm going to call them legal representatives.
03:26I think their own legal basis
03:27should be questioned.
03:28They are abusing our laws.
03:31They're effectively abusing the laws
03:33that they sign up to support in
03:35through their legal practices.
03:37They're using laws now
03:38to basically poke their thumbs and noses
03:41at the British public
03:42and at the British legislators
03:44and say that, you know,
03:45they're supporting the most awful people
03:47that come to our country
03:48to do harm to our country.
03:50I mean, we've seen so much abuse
03:51of the European Court of Human Rights,
03:54haven't we?
03:54Our human rights laws,
03:55whether it's defending foreign criminals
03:57in this country,
03:58preventing foreign criminals
03:59from being deported and the like.
04:01And now, apparently,
04:02these lawyers are going to be using
04:04the freedom of speech
04:06and freedom of expression
04:07that's in the European Court of Human Rights
04:09to try and defend Hamas in this country.
04:12I mean, is this a reason
04:13to get rid of these human rights laws?
04:15Well, as you know, Emily,
04:19my party has very rightly said
04:21we're going to look at all of these options
04:24and they're all options on the table.
04:26I think, first of all,
04:27let's just remember
04:28what Hamas are doing right now.
04:30They still hold captive 59 hostages.
04:33They are brutalising them.
04:35They've terrorised them.
04:36Their families are going through
04:38absolute pain and agony,
04:40not knowing where their loved ones are.
04:43And yet, on the other hand,
04:44we've got these so-called lawyers
04:46basically now trying to circumnavigate
04:49and abuse our own laws
04:51and use the veil of the European Court of Human Rights,
04:54the European Convention of Human Rights,
04:56and, dare I say it, free speech.
04:58What do these people know about free speech
05:00when Hamas is an organisation
05:02that is terrorising a population in Gaza,
05:05has abused people
05:07and the hostages that they have kidnapped?
05:10It just is an insult to absolutely everyone.
05:13And, quite frankly,
05:14I think your viewers
05:15and the British people across our country
05:18will be horrified by this.
05:20But my party's not in power.
05:22The question is,
05:23what is this Labour government going to do about this?
05:25Because they are the ones...
05:26But it is important what your party's position is on the ECHR.
05:30We've been against all these laws before.
05:31And so far,
05:32your position as a party
05:34is to look at the Convention
05:35but not necessarily withdraw from it?
05:40Well, we've got to find the right ways
05:42in which we change our laws.
05:44And just to basically say
05:45we would leave or repeal,
05:47that's not a way forward
05:48without actually having the ability
05:50to say this is how we are going to do it.
05:53And as someone, Tom,
05:54let me just say this to you.
05:55I took forward some very difficult
05:56and challenging legislation on asylum
05:58and on illegal migrants.
06:00By the way,
06:01everyone in the Labour Party,
06:03the very people that are now in government,
06:04they voted against it.
06:06And now, guess what?
06:06They're all sitting there silently
06:08on this new challenge
06:09and on this new abuse to our domestic laws.
06:11And, you know,
06:12basically people that are undermining
06:14the security,
06:15the national security
06:16and the national interest of our country.
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