The Law Society has called on solicitors to support the right of suspects detained at police stations across Europe to have access to a lawyer.

It wants solicitors to lobby their MPs to vote against a government motion that the UK should not opt into an European Union Directive that ensures rights for suspects in police stations.

The call follows the government’s recommendation that the UK should not accept a legislative proposal aimed at enhancing protections for suspects, which would ensure they have access to a lawyer at all stages of the criminal process. The draft directive seeks to ensure the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and the right to communicate upon arrest. It is the third measure in a road map agreed by the European Council in 2009 that aims for greater harmonisation of fundamental tenets of criminal law across Europe. Law Society president John Wotton said the directive reflects protections that have been enshrined in UK law since the mid-1980s, and that opting out of it was ‘not the right course to follow’.

He said: ‘If the government is not prepared to sign up to this directive, what does it say about their willingness to retain our own existing protections? What message does it deliver to other countries in the EU about the reciprocal protections we expect for our citizens when in their countries?’