Top Tory Robert Jenrick has slapped down claims from a senior ECHR politician who claimed he is ready to discuss reforms of the human rights treaty. Alain Berset, the secretary general of the Council of Europe that oversees the ECHR, said this morning that the treaty “needs to address” human rights laws as Britain and other European signatories increasingly criticise the restrictive terms that many argue prevent addressing illegal migration.

While he warned British politicians that quitting would leave the UK “isolated” on the world stage, Mr Berset said he is “absolutely ready” to discuss reforms. He told the BBC: “I am ready, absolutely ready, and really open to engage in all political discussions, to see what we need to discuss, maybe to change or to adapt, let us engage on migration issues and to see what we need to address and maybe to change.

“The most important point is to be ready to speak on all issues without taboo… and to see then what could be the possible consensus between member states.”

But his words were slapped down this afternoon by top Tory Robert Jenrick, the party’s shadow Justice Secretary and a passionate advocate of withdrawing from the ECHR.

Mr Jenrick told the Express that Mr Berset’s comments amounted to a “con” of voters.

“The prospect of successfully reforming the ECHR is as doomed to fail as attempts to reform the EU. We don’t have time to waste when our borders are broken and our prisons are clogged up with foreign criminals we can’t remove.

“Talk of reforming the ECHR is a political trick by Labour to try and con the British people they care about our border security. The only way we can begin to restore sanity is to leave.”

In September the UK Attorney General Lord Hermer said it would be a “political trick” to pretend that any meaningful changes to the ECHR could be negotiated.

He pointed out that one recent minor change to the treaty took nine years to implement.

It came as more than a dozen countries backed UK calls to change the way courts interpret ECHR rulings.

Mr Berset’s comments also represent something of a u-turn from Mr Berset, who previously criticised European countries demanding reforms to the treaty for “politicising” human rights.

In May nine countries led by Italy’s Giorgia Meloni wrote to the Council of Europe calling for an “open-minded conversation” about the convention’s interpretation.

The countries’ leaders said they needed more freedom to decide on expelling foreign criminals and deportations, warning: “What was once right might not be the answer of tomorrow.”

Berset hit back: “In a society governed by the rule of law, no judiciary should face political pressure. Institutions that protect fundamental rights cannot bend to political cycles. If they do, we risk eroding the very stability they were built to ensure.”

He added that the principles of the ECHR “should never be undermined”.