Since taking office in September 2012, Chris Grayling has made no secret of his desire to get rid of the Human Rights Act and to 'dramatically curtail' the role of the European Court of Human Rights in the UK. In October he refused to rule out an exit from the European Convention, despite the concerns of senior Tories such as Dominic Grieve and Kenneth Clarke (Grayling's predecessor in the ministry). Grayling's front-bench colleague, home secretary Theresa May, was said to be drawing up a manifesto promise to repeal the Human Rights Act. Frances Webber, a retired human rights barrister and author of Borderline Justice: the fight for refugee and migrant rights, examines Britain's difficult relationship with the European Human Rights Convention.