THE proposed closure of a Teesdale care home breaches the human rights of its elderly residents, an independent commission has found.

The panel, chaired by academic David Fruin and human rights solicitor Bernadette Livesey, was commissioned by Durham County Council following complaints from a relatives' action group acting on behalf of the residents of Stoneleigh in Barnard Castle, which the authority scheduled for closure at the end of September.

But the commission, while dismissing some concerns, found that, in deciding to close 17 homes, the council did not consider residents' human rights and that the process was thereby unlawful. It states: "We upheld complaints relating to the human rights of residents, including those at Stoneleigh. We found that the council executive, in coming to its decision, did not consider information about residents' rights arising from the Human Rights Act, ie, the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence."

Speaking for the families of Stoneleigh, Mark Oley, advocate for RAGE (Relatives Action Group for the Elderly), who presented the case to the commission, said: "This report is a devastating indictment of how councils across the UK, under pressure from the Government to privatise quality public services and cut costs, are prepared to flaunt the fundamental human rights of vulnerable people in pursuance of political ideology, what New Labour calls modernisation."

He added that RAGE would now be pressing for the Stoneleigh closure to be rescinded, and advising on the right to compensation. He is travelling to Barnard Castle tomorrow for an open meeting at the Glaxo club at noon.

Mr Oley, who pointed out that 55 people across the UK had died because of the closure of their care homes, paid tribute to the group, calling them "quite special people."

"I add my thanks and appreciation to all the support they have given to their loved ones," he said. "Their relatives gave us rights, many of them fighting for us in two world wars. They suffered for us and it's our moral duty to protect their human rights.

"The electorate should note with real alarm that the report states, quite clearly, that the council ignored the human rights of not just Stoneleigh, but the other 16 homes.

"Those residents who moved out of Barnard Castle, many after living there all their lives, did so on the basis of illegal instructions."

Mr Oley was critical of Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying: "In your own constituency, where a public care home is threatened, RAGE will be challenging the hypocrisy of the New Labour modernisation policy. We will not let you abuse the rights of our loved ones.

"We will be holding meetings in the threatened homes over the next month. On the evidence of this report, we will make sure your party does not get its way in treating our relatives without the respect and dignity that they have earned and deserve."

A spokeswoman for the county council said the commission's report had only been received last Friday and it would have to be thoroughly read and digested before being presented to committee, or any comment made