MP elected vice-president of Council of Europe assembly

JOHN HOWELL has been elected a vice-president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The Henley MP was voted in by colleagues at a session on Monday, two weeks after being made leader of its British delegation.

He put himself forward as his previous promotion made him eligible.

Mr Howell will serve alongside 16 other vice-presidents and could chair meetings of the assembly when the president is unavailable.

The MP, who joined the council in 2015, said his main priority in the new role would be to put pressure on Russia to accept judgements handed down in the European Court of Human Rights.

He said: “That is where the largest number of complaints comes from but at the moment they aren’t doing anything about it. I have a very good relationship right across the party and national divide in the council and I’m seen as a great peacemaker so it’s really encouraging to have received this honour.”

The council meets in Strasbourg every quarter and discusses issues like climate change, sexual discrimination, the treatment of refugees and conflicts between member countries. Mr Howell is also treasurer of the European Conservatives Group and the Democratic Alliance Group, both part of the council.

The delegation of 18 MPs and 18 alternates includes members of the Conservative and Labour parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and the Scottish National Party.

The council isn’t part of the European Union but is a separate body of 47 member states set up in 1949 to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law.