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Extradition rules: MPs to debate US-UK changes Extradition rules: MPs urge reform of US-UK accord
(about 9 hours later)
MPs are to debate calls for UK-US extradition rules to be "urgently renegotiated" in light of high-profile cases such as that of Gary McKinnon. MPs have urged the government to reform the UK's extradition arrangements to better protect British citizens.
Mr McKinnon has been fighting extradition to the US for six years on charges of alleged computing hacking. During a debate on UK-US extradition treaty, MP Dominic Raab highlighted the case of alleged hacker Gary McKinnon, who is fighting extradition to the US.
Many MPs argue existing laws governing extradition are unbalanced and that Mr McKinnon should face justice in the UK. A mpotion backing a call for reform of Britain's extradition laws was passed without a division.
The US ambassador to the UK told MPs last week the existing treaty between the two countries was working well. But immigration minister Damian Green told MPs the government was already considering what action was needed.
Ministers were deciding what to fo "to ensure that this country's extradition arrangements work both efficiently and fairly," he said.
An independent review of the UK-US extradition treaty earlier this year by the former Court of Appeal judge Sir Scott Baker found no reason to believe it was operating unfairly - a decision currently being studied by Home Secretary Theresa May.An independent review of the UK-US extradition treaty earlier this year by the former Court of Appeal judge Sir Scott Baker found no reason to believe it was operating unfairly - a decision currently being studied by Home Secretary Theresa May.
MPs have, however, continued to press for action and the backbench debate, secured by Conservative Dominic Raab, has the backing of more than 40 MPs, including senior Labour and Lib Dem figures. The US ambassador to the UK told MPs last week the existing treaty between the two countries was working well.
'Rough justice''Rough justice'
Monday's motion calls on the treaty to be redrafted to enable the government to refuse extradition requests if UK prosecutors have decided against beginning proceedings at home. MPs have, however, continued to press for action and the backbench debate, secured by Mr Raab, had the backing of more than 40 MPs, including senior Labour and Lib Dem figures.
Unlike previous debates on the subject, MPs will get a chance to vote on Monday although the outcome will not be binding on the government. The vote will be subject to a one-line whip, meaning Conservative backbenchers can vote whichever way they choose and will not be expected to follow the government line. The motion called for the treaty to be redrafted to enable the government to refuse extradition requests if UK prosecutors have decided against beginning proceedings at home. However, it is not binding on the government.
Critics of the US/UK treaty, agreed between Washington and London in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, say it is easier to extradite people from the UK than the US.Critics of the US/UK treaty, agreed between Washington and London in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, say it is easier to extradite people from the UK than the US.
They say the arrangement is not reciprocal because the US does not need to present evidence to a British court to request extradition, while the UK still needs to present evidence to an American court.They say the arrangement is not reciprocal because the US does not need to present evidence to a British court to request extradition, while the UK still needs to present evidence to an American court.
The treaty was originally designed to help bring terrorist suspects to justice but campaigners say it is being used to seek extradition for other offences such as fraud and drug-trafficking.The treaty was originally designed to help bring terrorist suspects to justice but campaigners say it is being used to seek extradition for other offences such as fraud and drug-trafficking.
Critics also disapprove of the European Arrest Warrant system (EAW), which allows fast-track extraditions on the assumption that standards of justice are adequate across Europe.Critics also disapprove of the European Arrest Warrant system (EAW), which allows fast-track extraditions on the assumption that standards of justice are adequate across Europe.
The case of Mr McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome and faces 60 years in jail if found guilty of hacking into US government computer systems, is one of a number cited by MPs as cause for change.The case of Mr McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome and faces 60 years in jail if found guilty of hacking into US government computer systems, is one of a number cited by MPs as cause for change.
'Vital opportunity''Vital opportunity'
Mr Raab said Monday's debate was a "vital opportunity" for Parliament to put the issue back onto the government's agenda and to seek a mandate for legislative changes in future. Opening the debate on Monday, Mr Raab said: "At root it is about the injustice in despatching someone with Asperger's syndrome hundreds of miles from home on allegations of computer hacking when he was apparently searching for unidentified flying objects."
"No-one wants to scrap extradition," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "What we want is a bit of common sense and some safeguards for our citizens." He said Mr McKinnon should not be treated like some "gangland mobster or al-Qaeda mastermind".
The motion was "not about abolishing extradition, which is vital to international efforts in relation to law enforcement; it's about whether, in taking the fight to the terrorists and the serious criminals after 9/11, the pendulum swung too far the other way," he insisted.
Decisions on where suspects should be tried in cross-border cases should be taken openly in court rather than behind closed doors, Mr Raab suggested.Decisions on where suspects should be tried in cross-border cases should be taken openly in court rather than behind closed doors, Mr Raab suggested.
And he added: "The US has treaties with Mexico, Brazil and Australia, giving their authorities much greater discretion to refuse to extradite their citizens. So why shouldn't Britain, a stalwart ally, ask for this very modest change?" And he added: "In the extradition treaties the US has with Brazil, Mexico, Australia, just to name a few, those countries retain the right to decline extradition in these and far wider circumstances as it affects their nationals. Is it so unreasonable for Britain, a stalwart ally, to ask for this modest adjustment?"
Labour MP David Blunkett, who oversaw the introduction of the existing rules as home secretary under Tony Blair, said Monday's debate was "likely to get very hot". He also attacked the "Kafkaesque" European Arrest Warrant system, saying it was based on an assumption that was a "sham."
He told Today the independent review had found the extradition rules were fair, and there was "no way that the US is going to renegotiate the treaty". Former shadow home secretary David Davis also told MPs he believed the "draconian" extradition systems with the US were unfair, with the Americans receiving more suspects from Britain than it extradites to the UK.
However, he said he wanted to explore whether in the McKinnon case "it was possible, using video conferencing and modern technology, for the trial to take place on US soil but for Gary to remain in Britain and serve his sentence here". "Between 2003 and 2009 there were 63 extraditions to the USA. Of those, precisely one was a terrorist," Mr Davis said.
He said he had visited the Department of Justice in Washington twice in a bid to get the US authorities to agree to such an arrangement.
'Emotion vs reality''Emotion vs reality'
Labour former home secretary David Blunkett told MPs he had private meetings with US Department of Justice officials to discuss the case and reported back to current Home Secretary Theresa May and Justice Secretary Ken Clarke on the Americans' views on whether Mr McKinnon could serve any sentence in the UK.
He told MPs the meetings happened in 2009 - when he reported back to the Labour government - and 2010, but he had kept them confidential.
"These are difficult issues because we shouldn't make any presumption that somebody would be found guilty," he said.
The Green party's Caroline Lucas raised the issue of Babar Ahmad, who has spent seven years in British high-security prisons without trial as he fights extradition to the US on terror allegations.
She said there was a need for a full public inquiry into what had gone on in the case and this was a "crucial opportunity" to send a "very clear message" that reform was needed.
A recent report by Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights suggested that between January 2004 and July 2011 there were 130 requests by the US for people to be extradited from the UK, compared with 54 requests from the UK to the US.A recent report by Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights suggested that between January 2004 and July 2011 there were 130 requests by the US for people to be extradited from the UK, compared with 54 requests from the UK to the US.
Louis Susman, US ambassador to the UK, has said it is not true that it is easier to extradite someone from the UK than from the US.Louis Susman, US ambassador to the UK, has said it is not true that it is easier to extradite someone from the UK than from the US.
He told the Commons foreign affairs committee last week the US had never denied a UK extradition request, and the same standards applied to both countries.He told the Commons foreign affairs committee last week the US had never denied a UK extradition request, and the same standards applied to both countries.
He said it was wrong to "view the extradition treaty through the prism of individual cases where sentiment and emotion can cloud reality and lead to misrepresentation", and that having signed the treaty it was "now incumbent on the UK" to support it.He said it was wrong to "view the extradition treaty through the prism of individual cases where sentiment and emotion can cloud reality and lead to misrepresentation", and that having signed the treaty it was "now incumbent on the UK" to support it.
No 10 said Home Secretary Theresa May was studying the Baker report in terms of its potential bearing on the McKinnon case.
"She will reach a decision as soon as she is able to but she has to consider all the points that have been raised by Mr McKinnon's legal team," a spokesman said.