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European Arrest Warrant: Speaker John Bercow attacks handling of vote European Arrest Warrant: Speaker John Bercow attacks handling of vote
(about 1 hour later)
Commons Speaker John Bercow has attacked the government's handling of the debate over the European Arrest Warrant, saying the public would be "contemptuous" of the process. Commons Speaker John Bercow has criticised the government's handling of the Commons debate over the European Arrest Warrant.
He said there would be no vote on the UK's use of the warrant, saying this had caused "considerable irritation". He said the lack of a specific vote on the UK's use of the warrant had caused irritation among MPs and the public would view it with contempt.
Home Secretary Theresa May, who had promised a vote, said MPs would still be able to have their say on it by considering other EU justice measures. Home Secretary Theresa May said MPs could still have a say on the warrant by debating other EU justice measures.
Labour said it was a "shambles".
MPs narrowly voted to continue the debate, by 251 to 242.MPs narrowly voted to continue the debate, by 251 to 242.
Mr Bercow was speaking as MPs prepared to debate the EU justice measures the government wants to opt back into.Mr Bercow was speaking as MPs prepared to debate the EU justice measures the government wants to opt back into.
The government opted out of all 133 EU police and criminal justice measures measures in 2013, a decision that will take effect on 1 December.The government opted out of all 133 EU police and criminal justice measures measures in 2013, a decision that will take effect on 1 December.
Ministers want to rejoin 35 of the measures, including the European Arrest Warrant, before that deadline.
'Sorry saga''Sorry saga'
Ministers want to rejoin 35 of the measures, including the European Arrest Warrant, before that deadline.
There had been confusion over whether the debate and vote would cover the warrant, which is opposed by some Conservative MPs.There had been confusion over whether the debate and vote would cover the warrant, which is opposed by some Conservative MPs.
But Mr Bercow ruled that it would cover 10 of the other measures.But Mr Bercow ruled that it would cover 10 of the other measures.
"There is not today to be a vote on the specific matter of membership of the European Arrest Warrant," he told MPs."There is not today to be a vote on the specific matter of membership of the European Arrest Warrant," he told MPs.
The speaker said he himself had expected a vote on the warrant, saying it was a "sorry saga" and that "the House should not be put in that position".The speaker said he himself had expected a vote on the warrant, saying it was a "sorry saga" and that "the House should not be put in that position".
"A commitment is a commitment to be honoured," he said, "rather than trying to slip things through some sort of artifice"."A commitment is a commitment to be honoured," he said, "rather than trying to slip things through some sort of artifice".
He said the public expected "straightforward dealing and they are frankly contemptuous, and I use the word advisedly, of what is not straightforward dealing".He said the public expected "straightforward dealing and they are frankly contemptuous, and I use the word advisedly, of what is not straightforward dealing".
European Arrest Warrants
Q&A: European Arrest Warrant
Despite the speaker's comments, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling told the Commons the vote would be on all 35 of the EU crime and justice measures.Despite the speaker's comments, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling told the Commons the vote would be on all 35 of the EU crime and justice measures.
Some Conservative MPs joined in the criticism, with Sir Richard Shepherd saying the government's behaviour had been "sly" and Jacob Rees-Mogg calling it "underhand". Some Conservative MPs joined in the criticism, with Sir Richard Shepherd saying the government's behaviour had been "sly" while Jacob Rees-Mogg calling it "underhand".
Mrs May said the government was not legally required to bring the measures to the House. There was a legal requirement to "transpose" some of them into UK law, she said, but this was usually done through a special committee of MPs.Mrs May said the government was not legally required to bring the measures to the House. There was a legal requirement to "transpose" some of them into UK law, she said, but this was usually done through a special committee of MPs.
She said it was possible for MPs to debate the warrant, and said the eventual vote would determine whether the UK opted into all of the measures. She said it was possible for MPs to discuss the warrant, and the eventual vote would determine whether the UK opted into all of the measures.
"The government is clear that the vote that will take place on the regulations will be the vote that determines whether or not we opt into these measures," she added."The government is clear that the vote that will take place on the regulations will be the vote that determines whether or not we opt into these measures," she added.
European Arrest Warrants 'Safer'
Q&A: European Arrest Warrant Critics of the warrant say it is overused and a threat to the liberties of Britons and the sovereignty of the UK.
Earlier Prime Minister David Cameron, who had promised a vote before the Rochester and Strood by-election on 20 November, said: "It's absolutely essential we do the right thing to keep our country safe and there isn't a realistic viable alternative to the European Arrest Warrant, which means that if a terrorist commits an offence here and runs off to another European country, I want to be able to get them back quickly, put them on trial, prosecute them, convict them and imprison them, that's why this matters so much." But supporters, including the government and law enforcement agencies, say it is a vital tool to protect the UK and bring criminals to justice across EU borders.
The BBC's Political Editor Nick Robinson said he expected between 30 and 50 Conservative MPs to rebel, many fewer than the 100 who have expressed concerns about the UK's use of the warrant in recent weeks. When the main debate got under way, Mrs May said she understood concerns over the warrant but said she had legislated to make it "better and safer".
Mrs May and Conservative whips, he added, had been doing all they could to quell the size of the rebellion by arguing that the measures were about law and order rather than Europe - to the point that the European Arrest Warrant is not even mentioned in the Commons motion. Setting out the case to retain it, she told MPs more than 95% of people extradited from the UK were foreign nationals, including suspects wanted for 124 murders, more than 100 rapes, nearly 500 serious assaults and seven terrorism cases.
But he said critics would take some convincing that the issue did not relate to the UK's basic relationship with the European Union. Labour called the situation a "shambles".
'Game-playing' Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said she agreed with opting back into the warrant and the other 34 measures, but criticised the government for not holding a specific vote on the warrant.
Critics of the warrant, such as the former shadow home secretary David Davis, say that when justice is performed quickly, it turns too often into injustice. She said: "It is just baffling that the home secretary is playing games with something that is so important to criminal justice."
Mr Davis, a Conservative, cites the arrest of the parents of five-year-old Ashya King, who had taken their son to Spain for cancer treatment, as an example. The couple were later released.
But advocates of the European Arrest Warrant point to the successful arrest of Briton Jeremy Forrest in France - a teacher who was subsequently jailed for abducting a schoolgirl he ran away with.
Speaking to the BBC earlier, Mrs May said changes earlier this year had already dealt with the major concerns of critics - such as the proportionality of extradition requests and whether UK suspects were being sent abroad before cases were ready to proceed.
She added: "If we had a situation where we didn't have an extradition arrangement with other countries inside the European Union and you were a criminal and committed an offence in another country inside the European Union, where do you think you might make for if you were hoping to evade justice?"
'Cavalier'
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, who supports the continued use of the Warrant, told BBC News: "The government has not got agreement within the Conservative Party on supporting this vital national security measure."
She accused David Cameron and Mrs May of "ducking and diving" in order to avoid a specific vote.
In a letter to Ms Cooper, Mrs May wrote: "I shall be making very clear in the House on Monday - and am happy to do so now - that Monday's vote is a vote on the entire package of 35 measures."
But the chairmen of three influential Parliamentary committees accused the government of a "cavalier approach" to the forthcoming debate.
The European scrutiny, justice, and home affairs committees criticised the government's decision to present the 35 measures as one package, saying: "The form of debate and vote proposed by the government on Monday falls far short of the Committees' expectations."
The Home Office had said 11 of the measures - including the EAW - would be specifically voted on, and that if they were voted down, none of the 35 would be adopted by the UK.
Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert, who criticised the Conservatives' "obsession" with Europe, said that whatever the wording of the motion, "the vote will be taken as a vote on the European Arrest Warrant".