Labour remains committed to creating a "human rights culture" in Britain, Lord Falconer has said.

In a speech on Tuesday evening, the constitutional affairs secretary rejected feats that the implementation of the Human Rights Act is establishing a "litigation culture" in the UK.

Speaking to the Law Society and Human Rights Lawyers Association, the Cabinet minister sought to restore the government's image as a friend of civil liberties.

The speech came amid criticism of the government's anti-terrorism legislation, which critics have described as draconian.

“We have got to tell people that human rights isn’t about lawyers," said Lord Falconer.

"It is about everyone, because everyone is entitled to dignity.

"The big human rights questions don’t turn on legal technicalities, they turn on views about what is necessary in a democratic society.

"They are about balancing one person’s interests against another."

European Convention

He called for more than "bare compliance" with the European Convention on Human Rights.

“We didn’t bring in the Human Rights Act to get a litigation culture. We brought it in to get a human rights culture," the minister added.

“People need to appreciate that human rights questions often don’t have a technically ‘right’ answer and that the whole of society can and should engage in the debate.”

He also defended the government's anti-terrorist legislation as justified in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

“My position on terrorism is simple: there are no options we should refuse to consider within the framework of the rule of law and our international human rights obligations," he said.

"We need to be imaginative and flexible, looking at the problems, the facts, and the needs of our democratic society."