It has been brought to the fore by The Telegraph’s exposure of dozens of cases where foreign criminals and illegal migrants have avoided deportation by claiming their ECHR rights would be breached if they were removed.

In an interview with Politico, the political website, Mr Berset appeared to put himself at odds with all three main parties.

He said: “I am not calling for reform of the European Convention on Human Rights, nor do I support any effort that would weaken it.

“It should never be used as a scapegoat in domestic political debates. When states face complex challenges, the answer is not to dismantle the legal guardrails they themselves helped build.

“The proper place for dialogue is through our institutions, not through pressure on the European Court of Human Rights or attempts to bypass the system.”

‘Meaningful reform is impossible’

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said Mr Beset’s comments “proved... meaningful reform is impossible”.

He added: “This proves what has long been clear: meaningful reform of the ECHR is impossible. Labour’s fake plans to reform it is a ruse to trap us in the convention for decades more while our border crisis worsens. Starmer doesn’t care enough about protecting the British public to leave.”

Meanwhile, Ms Mahmood has warned the ECHR was “fraying” public confidence in the rule of law because it is out of step with common sense.

In a speech at the Council of Europe on Wednesday, she said public trust in the court was “eroding” because it “too often protects those who break the rules, rather than those who follow them”.

UK ministers are proposing to raise the threshold to make it harder for judges to grant the right to remain based on article 8 of the ECHR, which protects the right to a family life, and article 3, which protects against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.