Cat fight brings human rights row into the open

THERE is a serious side to l'affaire du chat that will cause David Cameron headaches long after the last bottle of Bollinger has been downed tonight as the political conference season draws to a close.

First, let's be clear how the cat fight broke out. Home Secretary Theresa May told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester yersterday that she was going to issue new guidance to judges over article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights - the right to family life.

To illustrate how ridiculous the law has become, May said - "I'm not making this up" - that one British judge had even refused to deport an illegal immigrant "because he had a pet cat".

Minutes later, Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said on air he did not believe May's story. He then told a fringe meeting he would bet the Home Secretary a fiver it wasn't true.

The cat fight between May and Clarke has brought a serious Cabinet scrap over the abolition of the Human Rights Action hissing and scratching into the open.

For months, behind the scenes, Clarke has been stubbornly resisting the pressure to roll over and allow the Act to be replaced with a British Bill of rights. No wonder he was called 'the sixth Liberal Democrat' by Nick Clegg at the Lib Dems' party conference.

But May and the prime minister both have their hearts set on the repeal of the HRA and there is an official review going on right now.

Clarke said yesterday he would be "quite content" for May to tinker with the guidance to judges through secondary legislation, but he made it clear at a fringe meeting organised by The Daily Telegraph that he will not let the Act be repealed without a fight. (Incidentally, the Telegraph's editorial today comes out on Ken's side on the matter of the cat, saying May's story does not bear close examination.)

Ken may look like a pussycat, but he has sharp claws. If it comes to a real fight - which is likely - the Mole wouldn't put a fiver on Cameron and May winning.

At around 2.30 pm today, Cameron will run down the curtain on the conference season with his own big set-piece speech.

Because the state of the economy has made expensive gestures like tax cuts impossible, he has little to offer but 'mood music' - hope and optimism coupled with a bit of financial realism (pay off your credit cards, just as we are trying to in government).

It would be handy to be able offer hope to the Tory faithful that they will see the end of their hated Human Rights Act. But with Ken on fighting form, will Cameron choose to bring the subject up? We shall see. ·