A British homeowner who lost his house to coastal erosion has announced he is suing Rishi Sunak’s Government for breaching his human rights.
The landmark case comes after a controversial ruling from the European Convention on Human Rights about climate change.
Kevin Jordan, 70, a former marine engineer, is one of two Britons who claimed to have their human rights violated by the Government’s failure to protect them.
The ECHR boosted the chances of the case succeeding on Tuesday by ruling the Government does have a duty to protect people from climate change.
A British homeowner who lost his house to coastal erosion has announced he is suing Rishi Sunak Government for breaching his human rights
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Jordan’s judicial review looks set to be considered by the High Court this summer.
It could also intensify the ongoing row between top Tory MPs and the Strasbourg Court.
However, Sunak could face a revolt over whether to leave the ECHR, with at least 12 Cabinet colleagues listed as opposing the move.
Jordan claimed he “lost everything” as a result of his Norfolk bungalow in Hemsby being demolished last December.
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European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg
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It was pulled down by the council after global warming saw the land protecting it from the sea erode at seven times the predicted rate in the 14 years that he lived there.
He said: “I am now what you call a climate refugee. I lost my home with no compensation.
“I am now in local authority accommodation. My lovely sea views are reduced to a ground floor flat looking at cars going past.”
Lawyers for Friends of the Earth, which is backing his case, claim that the Government’s failure to protect Jordan from the sea is a breach of Section 6 of the Human Rights Act.
Coastal erosion on the Norfolk coast
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Section 6 covers “unlawful” policies by a public authority which damage people’s rights.
Jordan said he decided to take on the Government after being asked by the Save Hemsby Coastline campaign group.
Will Rundle, head of legal, said: “We believe this programme not only breaches the Climate Change Act, but also violates the human rights of our two co-claimants. We are currently considering the full importance and consequence of the ECHR judgment, and what impact, if any, this may have on our legal challenge.”
Doug Paulley is also taking legal action after claiming higher summer temperatures caused him distress and put him at increased risk of serious harm.
Source Agencies
