William Dartmouth, UK Independence Party MEP for the South West, today criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's speech in Strasbourg on the European Court of Human Rights.

Lord Dartmouth said, "In his election manifesto the Prime Minister promised to replace this court with a British Bill of Rights.This was warmly welcomed by many as British justice has for centuries been the envy of the world. Indeed  many countries draw up contracts based on English Common Law.

The European Court of Human Rights bases itself on the often inferior justice systems of Continental justice which all too often ignores the rights and responsibilities of the individual. Yet this court is somehow allowed to prevail over British Courts", said Lord Dartmouth.

"All we heard from Mr Cameron in Strasbourg was bluster. He knows that so long as we remain in the European Union we must be a member of this Court.

What we need is a Prime Minister that defends the rights of our justice system and the sovereignty of our Parliament. Westminster voted overwhelmingly to continue to deny prisoners the right to vote. This put us in direct conflict with the ECHR and it is a fight we will not win while a member of the EU.

This court has overturned the British courts in a stream of judgements that has seen convicted terrorists, rapists and drug dealers allowed to stay in Britain".

"It was not bluster we needed from Mr Cameron", added Lord Dartmouth, "It was a statement that British law and the sovereignty of the UK would be paramount."

New rules from European judges and a debt crisis on the continent are causing cuts to pensions in the UK.

The two main problems come from directives which require insurers to hold more cash in the bank, and another which prevents them from using gender when assessing payouts.

Meanwhile,Europe is in meltdown. Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal and even France are teetering on the brink of default — and savers in Britain are sharing the pain.

As Europe’s debt woes have escalated, the value of UK pensions has crashed. Statistics produced for Money Mail show the income available from every £1,000 in a pension pot has plummeted by almost 10 per cent since last July. Read the full article in the Daily Mail HERE