An unelected judge tells a democracy about dictatorship...the irony of it.

Only dictators defy European rights law, judge tells Britain

Europe's most senior judge faced fierce criticism last night after suggesting that Britain would resemble a 1960s Greek dictatorship if it denied prisoners the vote and ignored human rights rulings.

ean-Paul Costa, the president of the European Court of Human Rights, said it would be a “disaster” if Britain defied his court’s ruling over enfranchising inmates.

In a thinly veiled comparison, he said only Greek military dictators had previously denounced the European Convention on Human Rights.

His comments were condemned by David Davis, the Conservative backbencher who was one of the MPs behind last week’s Commons vote which backed a motion opposing the European ruling by 234 to 22.

Mr Davis said last night: “It is farcical to compare the oldest democracy in Europe with a military dictatorship.

“No one has any argument with the Convention as originally drafted and signed but that does not give the court the right to add on any authorities it sees fit. And it does not give the court the right to be insulting.” Asked why, said it would be a “disaster” for Britain if it was to defy the judgment, Mr Costa told the BBC: “The only country which denounced the Convention [on Human Rights] was Greece in 1967 at the time of the dictatorship of the colonels.

“I cannot imagine, even if I can understand some irritation, that the UK, which is a great country, could be in the same situation as the colonels in 1967.”

The court’s second most senior figure, its deputy registrar Michael O’Boyle, said a plan the Conservatives were considering for a British bill of rights that was not subject to judicial review would be similar to conditions under the Soviet Union.

David Cameron set a collision course with both European and domestic judges on Wednesday when he said it was time Parliament decided laws.

He spoke out after an “appalling” decision by Britain’s Supreme Court that paedophiles and rapists should be allowed to appeal against being held on the sex offenders’ register for life.

The Coalition is still deciding how to abide by the prison vote ruling, which Mr Cameron has said makes him “physically sick”.

Today the High Court will rule on a Government attempt to throw out the claims of hundreds of prisoners who demanded compensation for not being able to vote in last year’s general election

Mr Costa acknowledged that “it seems a little paradoxical” to give rapists and murderers the vote.

He also said he understood the anger the court’s decision had caused in Britain as some countries felt such matters were for parliaments not the courts.

Mr Costa was one of only three European judges, out of 17, who was against the court’s decision and felt Britain was not breaching human rights by having a blanket ban on votes for prisoners.

He was overruled by the other judges, including Britain’s representative, and now supports the collective decision.

Mr Cameron said a commission to review human rights legislation and the creation of a bill of rights would be established “imminently”.

He risked further protest after it emerged that there would probably be no human rights reforms in this parliament, partly to avoid splits with the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition.

Sources suggested the Conservatives would carry out their own review with a view to making it a key issue in the next election.