BBC's Fiona Bruce left dumbstruck by two Fake or Fortune items

Leading Brexiteers have called for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights immediately as the EU pushes ahead with its plans to join. The set of rights - widely blamed for frustrating efforts to deport foreign criminals and people with no right to live in the UK - is enforced by the European Court of Justice.

The ECHR is not a EU institution and there are fears the EU will gain influence over human rights laws "by the back door". Brexiteers say Brussels's determination to sign up to the Convention is also a sign of its intent to become a nation state. Former Brexit minister David Jones said: "The possibility of EU accession to the ECHR is deeply troubling. The Convention was designed for sovereign states, not supranational bodies.

"Allowing Brussels to join risks distorting the Convention's role and expanding EU influence over human rights law by the back door. It would erode national sovereignty, by giving unelected EU institutions a say in matters that should remain the province of democratic nation states."

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith added: "We should make it clear we intend to withdraw from the ECHR because it makes governing our country and stopping illegal migrants impossible." The European Comm-ission states joining the ECHR is a "priority" but some Brexiteers doubt it will join up. Former Commons Leader Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg does not expect the EU will accept the "jurisdiction of a higher court".

He said: "I do not think this will change and I think it helps make the case for the UK to leave the ECHR because, if the EU won't accept a higher court, why should we?"

And Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope said: "The EU is under a legal duty in the Lisbon Treaty to join the ECHR but when the original agreement was reached it was vetoed by the European Court of Justice on the grounds the EU cannot legally submit to the ECHR controlling its powers over human rights. The EU wants to be a rule-maker and not a rule-taker - the same reason why I and many other colleagues want to leave the ECHR."

A European Commission spokesperson said: "Advancing with the EU accession to the ECHR remains a priority. The Commission will request the Court of Justice of the EU for its opinion on the revised draft accession agreement, negotiated between the Union and the member states of the Council of Europe, which foresees the EU's accession to the ECHR. Our aim is to see the EU's accession to the Convention concluded successfully."

A Government source said: "ECHR accession is a matter for the EU".