Under sweeping changes announced last month, the government said it wanted to introduce measures to stop asylum seekers using their rights in the ECHR to a family life to avoid deportation. The Conservatives and Reform UK have called for withdrawal from the convention altogether.

Starmer and Danish leader call for joint action to tackle migration challenges

Writing for the Guardian, the prime minister said that updating the interpretation of the convention was urgently required to confront the challenges posed by mass migration – and far-right forces that sought to divide mainstream opinion across Europe.

“The best way of fighting against the forces of hate and division, is to show that mainstream, progressive politics can fix this problem,” he wrote in a joint article with the Danish leader, Mette Frederiksen.

“Listening to legitimate concerns and acting on them is what our politics is about. That’s not empty populism, it’s democracy. We are determined to show that our societies can act with compassion while upholding law and order, and fairness.”

The two leaders called on European allies to go further in tackling the shared challenge of migration by modernising the ECHR to reflect the challenges of the 21st century.

“Europe has faced big tests before and we have overcome them by acting together. Now we must do so again. Otherwise, the forces that seek to divide us will grow stronger.

“So our message is this: as responsible, progressive governments we will deliver the change that people are crying out for. We will control our borders to protect our democracies – and make our nations stronger than ever in the years to come.”

UK seeks to emulate Denmark’s hardline asylum model

The UK has sought to emulate Denmark’s hardline asylum model. The government, which will be represented at the Strasbourg meeting by David Lammy, the justice secretary, and Richard Hermer, the attorney general, is understood to be considering all options to update the implementation of the ECHR.

The proposed political declaration resulting from the summit would carry significant political weight and, if it garnered enough signatories, could directly influence how the European Court of Human Rights interprets and applies ECHR rights.

The government has already said it will legislate to clarify how article 8, the right to a private life, is interpreted in the domestic courts in regard to immigration rules.

Lammy is expected to argue on Wednesday that the ECHR could also be reinterpreted to limit the scope of rights under article 3, which prohibits torture and “degrading treatment”.

This could, for example, include higher thresholds for prison conditions or access to healthcare abroad where it currently prevents extradition or deportation from the UK.

Deputy PM to reaffirm UK’s commitment to ECHR, warns against withdrawal

The deputy prime minister is expected to reassert the UK’s commitment to the ECHR, saying that pulling out would be a “fake solution.”

At the summit, he is expected to say: “We must strike a careful balance between individual rights and the public’s interest, otherwise we risk a loss of confidence in the convention, and in human rights themselves.

“The definition of ‘family life’ can’t be stretched to prevent the removal of people with no right to remain in the country … The threshold of ‘inhuman and degrading treatment’ must be constrained to the most serious issues.

“States must be able to take proportionate decisions on the removal of foreign criminals, so that we renew the convention’s democratic foundation.”