Professor Luke Clements provides legal advice on COVID-19 powers and the impact on disabled people in the UK
Professor Clements is quoted in recent articles in the Mirror and MSN UK entitled “Matt Hancock told Covid-19 powers 'cast aside disabled people' and break the law”.
The articles discuss a letter sent to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, by the Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, which shares legal advice arguing that the UK government is currently breaching international law in its treatment of some of the most vulnerable people in the UK.
This legal advice was provided by the School of Law’s Professor Luke Clements who is quoted as saying:
“The Secretary of State fundamentally misunderstands the obligations of this country under international law as regards disabled people.
“The very fact that local authorities only have to comply with the ECHR under the social care easements is what leads to the breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
“This international treaty by which the UK is bound, rightly requires much higher levels of care than the basic protections provided by human rights law.”
