The Tories are embroiled in a row with the legal profession after blaming the Human Rights Act for sparking unnecessary legal claims and fuelling a "compensation culture".

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, announced plans yesterday for a commission to look in detail at how to change or repeal the Act.

He said: "The Human Rights Act has spawned too many spurious rights. It has fuelled a compensation culture out of all sense of proportion. And all too often, it seems to give criminals more rights than victims of crime. This has to stop."

But several lawyers accused the Conservatives of perpetuating a myth.

Edward Nally, president of the Law Society, responded: "There have been far fewer claims under the Act than most commentators expected, but there is greater awareness among public authorities of the need to respect basic principles of human rights."