During his visit to Strasbourg, Foreign Secretary William Hague has again underlined the United Kingdom’s concern at the prospect of prisoners being allowed to vote.
The British minister answered questions on prisoner voting during a press conference to mark the transfer of the chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers from the United Kingdom to Albania.
The issue surfaced yesterday following a judgement from the European Court of Human Rights on a complaint brought by a Italian convict who was disenfranchised.
Hague said: “We have to consider the implications for the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister made his views very clear and I agree absolutely with the Prime Minister. The United Kingdom government will have to consider how to proceed.”
Earlier today, the British premier David Cameron said: “I have always believed when you are sent to prison, you lose certain rights and one of those rights is the right to vote.
“Crucially, I believe this should be a matter for parliament to decide, not a foreign court. Parliament has made its decision and I completely agree with it.”
Questions to British Foreign Secretary William Hague
