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Human Rights

I am not necessarily suggesting that we withdraw from the convention, because if we can make the Bill of Rights work, as I explained earlier, we would have a situation in which the European Court of Human Rights would have to defer to a clearly defined, domestic constitutional doctrine. That would mean that the margin of appreciation would work. We are taking legal advice on the matter by talking to some of the top human rights lawyers in the country. If they conclude that a bill of rights is workable and would give Britain a status similar to the German basic law, it would restore British parliamentary supremacy over European law, which many people feel very strongly about. As far as the margin of appreciation is concerned, that would apply to our vital national interests.