The British Government and the Human Rights Act

Reid to step down at next poll

Former home secretary John Reid has announced that he will quit Westminster at the next general election.

After 20 years as a Labour MP, Mr Reid informed his Airdrie and Shotts constituency party that he would not be seeking re-election.

The 60-year-old stood down from the Cabinet alongside Tony Blair in June.

He used the announcement to criticise the Human Rights Act, writing in the News of the World it was hindering the UK's fight against crime and terrorism.

Mr Reid called for a review of human rights laws at a "British and European level".

He said: "Too often we are fighting crime and terrorism with one hand behind our back."

Anything a thug in a suit like John Reid is against, has to be good.

The government doesn't want any form of a written constitution, because it would move power away from them.