A report on citizenship by the former attorney general is at risk of creating an 'underclass which does not have rights', a prominent civil liberties lawyer said this week.


The report, Citizenship: Our Common Bond, published this week by former attorney general Lord Goldsmith, proposes 'clarifying the legal rights and responsibilities associated with British citizenship' and reforming the treason laws.



Louise Christian, partner at London firm Christian Khan, said she feared the report was part of a drive to reform the Bill of Rights. 'But if it's saying that only British citizens have rights, then we are being encouraged to pigeonhole others in some sort of underclass.'



She added: 'As for reforming the treason laws, the terrorism legislation is already a step too far.'



She added that proposals to make schoolchildren pledge their allegiance to the Queen, were 'shoving political ideology down children's throats'.



Lord Goldsmith said his recommendations would promote the 'meaning and significance of citizenship within modern Britain.'



Jonathan Rayner