Most British people believe asylum seekers and immigrants are taking advantage of the Human Rights Act, a government study has revealed.
The study of 1,965 people for the Ministry of Justice was conducted in October 2005 but its results have only now been released.
It says 57% agree that too many people, mostly asylum seekers and other "foreigners", take advantage of the Human Rights Act, while 40% agreed that the Act has caused more problems than it has solved. One in 10 people believe criminals and lawyers are taking advantage of the Act.
The report, published on January 10, presents the findings from the Human Rights Insight Project, which was conducted by the Department for Constitutional Affairs (which was taken over by the Ministry of Justice in May 2007) from December 2004 to May 2006.
The research also says people believe there is a lack of shared values in Britain. A total of 56% agreed that "this country lacks a shared sense of rights and responsibilities" and 94% agreed that "we need to treat each other with more respect".
In his introduction to the report, Minister for Human Rights Michael Wills writes: "The report assesses the interface between human rights and public perception and demonstrates that the British public recognises that there is a need for a law to protect human rights in this country.
"The report contains important findings which informed the Human Rights Programme arising from the Review of the implementation of the Human Rights Act, set in train by Lord Falconer.
"The programme was successfully completed in September 2007. I believe it is now time for the findings to be made more widely available."
The report says the concept of having a law that deals with human rights in Britain is also overwhelmingly popular.
It states: "In general we may conclude that most people support the concept of both human rights and the Human Rights Act, but see some problems with how the legislation currently operates."
