Human rights 'loopholes' condemned

Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Gregg said dangerous criminals were trying to use the legislation to complain about their own human rights being breached.

Mr Gregg was speaking out just days before he leaves his post as head of West Yorkshire Police's Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET) to take up a senior position with LGC Forensics, one of the biggest forensic science service providers in the country.

He said: "These criminals have committed such appalling crimes and it is the families of the victims and the bereaved who are left behind and have to suffer the indignity of hearing them claim their human rights have been breached. It is such an appalling situation."

Mr Gregg said he was not calling for the legislation to be scrapped but it needed to be used in a "balanced" way.

"We have lost sight of the needs of the victims and the families here. It is deeply offensive when murderers and rapists use it (the Human Rights Act) and look for a loophole to only assist themselves," he added.

Mr Gregg is described by the force's chief constable Sir Norman Bettison as "one of the finest Detective Superintendents West Yorkshire has known."

He added: "As a police officer one of the most frustrating things is when killers who have shown not one ounce of compassion for their fellow human beings start trying to have the shield of human rights drawn around them. It is callous, heartless and deeply offensive."

He added: "For hardened criminals to try to use this legislation as protection causes terrible offence to the families of victims who have suffered appalling and cruel deaths at the hands of those who are quick to talk about human rights but were so swift to take away the human rights of others."

Mr Gregg led the team that tracked down former US Marine David Bieber, who murdered traffic officer Ian Broadhurst. He is appealing against his whole-life sentence arguing it breaches his human rights.