PM to Euro court: - The Sun

BATTLING David Cameron will this week tell Euro judges to stop meddling in British justice.

The PM will travel to Strasbourg to call for major reforms of the way the European Court of Human Rights is run.

He will say the court must focus on clearing its massive backlog of cases rather than interfering in UK rulings.

Mr Cameron will fire his salvo days after Britain was told it cannot deport hate preacher Abu Qatada to face terror charges in Jordan. The ECHR said Qatada, once al-Qaeda boss Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, might not get a fair trial. He has been held in a British prison since 2006.

The PM is this week expected to call for a "filtering system" to stop European judges dealing with cases already ruled on in national courts.

One of the ECHR's most controversial rulings was that British prisoners should get the vote.

They found in favour of murderer John Hirst, who said barring lags from voting violated their human rights. MPs last year voted overwhelmingly to defy the judgment. Britain currently holds the chairmanship of the Council of Europe, which oversees the court.

Mr Cameron has previously vowed to "get a grip on the misrepresentation of human rights". He also wants changes to the way the court's 47 judges are appointed.

If the proposals are blocked, ministers are considering temporarily pulling out of the ECHR. A source said: "There is a once in a generation opportunity for reform.

"We cannot have this panel of European judges being the final court of appeal on issues directly affecting our national security."

k.schofield@the-sun.co.uk