It comes after comments made by the party’s North Down candidate Colonel Tim Collins on Good Morning Ulster this morning (21 June), stating he would vote to leave the ECHR, referring to it as “distorted.”

Ms Bradshaw said the Convention is central to the Good Friday Agreement, including policing and criminal justice reforms. Consequently, any removal of the Convention would significantly undermine the Agreement itself.

She added a supposed clarification from the UUP in response to the comments from Tim Collins have further compounded the uncertainty.

“Human rights protections, especially the UK’s adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights, are fundamental to the Good Friday Agreement. Notably, human rights are woven into policing and criminal justice reforms,” said Ms Bradshaw.

“Tim Collins’ comments on Radio Ulster this morning regarding leaving the European Court and by extension the Convention, compound a history of intolerant or ill-formed remarks from him. The attempts so far from the UUP to respond to this latest situation further muddy the waters.

“There is a really dangerous debate on the right-wing of the political spectrum across the UK regarding withdrawing from the Convention. The European Court on Human Rights is not a foreign court but rather an international body on which the UK is currently a core stakeholder.

“For both Tim Collins and the UUP to lean into these arguments is deeply irresponsible and reckless. Leaving the Convention would relegate the UK to the same pariah status across Europe as Russia and Belarus.

“All parties should be clear in their commitment to the Good Friday Agreement, and not be chipping away at one of its core pillars.”