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| Extradition laws are 'fair', US ambassador tells MPs | Extradition laws are 'fair', US ambassador tells MPs |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The US ambassador to the UK has told MPs the extradition treaty between the two countries works well. | The US ambassador to the UK has told MPs the extradition treaty between the two countries works well. |
| Louis Susman told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee it was "fair and balanced" and "promotes the interests of justice" in both countries. | Louis Susman told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee it was "fair and balanced" and "promotes the interests of justice" in both countries. |
| His comments follow high-profile cases, including that of Gary McKinnon, the alleged hacker who has been fighting extradition to the US for years. | His comments follow high-profile cases, including that of Gary McKinnon, the alleged hacker who has been fighting extradition to the US for years. |
| The meeting came ahead of a Commons debate on the controversial issue. | The meeting came ahead of a Commons debate on the controversial issue. |
| In unusually strong language for a diplomat, the ambassador attacked those who believe the treaty is biased in favour of the US. | |
| "The constant use of skewed arguments and wilful distortion of the facts by some to advance their own agendas remains of great concern to the United States," he said. | |
| "It would be wrong to view the extradition treaty through the prism of individual cases where sentiment and emotion can cloud reality and lead to misrepresentation." | |
| The treaty was being "widely and wrongly condemned" by "some in parliament and in sections of the British media", he said. | |
| An independent review of the treaty led by the former Court of Appeal judge Sir Scott Baker found it "does not operate in an unbalanced manner", he added. | |
| Louis Susman said: "I believe that having signed the treaty, and having had it tested both through the British justice system and by independent experts, it is now incumbent on the UK government to stand in support of it." | |
| The review "reached the only conclusion that could be supported by the facts: that the US-UK treaty is balanced, fair, and needs no changes". | |
| Opponents of the treaty argue it is unfair for the United States to require "sufficient evidence to establish probable cause" before agreeing to extradite anyone to Britain, while Britons are denied the same protection. | |
| The issue will be debated in the Commons on Monday. | |
| The backbench debate - put forward by 45 MPs - calls on the government to bring forward "safeguards" to the treaty "as a matter of urgency". |