AMNESTY International has urged the British government to improve human rights in Britain and in Northern Ireland as a matter of priority. The London based organisation said it had written to the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, with an agenda for human rights protection.
Amnesty called on the government to bring Britain's laws into line with international standards and to set up a human rights commission.
The group called for an inquiry into what it said were significant numbers of deaths in police custody due to alleged violence, and into why a disproportionate number of the victims were from ethnic minorities.
Amnesty urged the reinstatement of the "historically recognised" right of suspects to remain silent during police interrogation and trial.
On Northern Ireland, Amnesty said that because of the large number of human rights violations there it was essential to review policing and the emergency legislation brought in to combat extremist violence.
"The protection of human rights and the creation of a human rights culture are central to a lasting peace," Amnesty said. "Despite the many serious allegations of human rights violations in the past in Northern Ireland, there has been a marked failure by previous governments to carry out wide ranging independent investigations into such allegations and make the findings public."