I would like the noble Lords to consider very carefully all the many seriously flawed cases for which the U.S. Government have sought extradition of British citizens and, in particular, the case of the “NatWest/Enron 3”. It is clear with hindsight that the purpose of this extradition was not the pursuit of criminals but the manipulation of people into situations where they would be intimidated by an alien and heavily biased legal system into entering into plea bargains by means of which the American prosecutors might gain evidence they would not otherwise have found. There were so many flaws in this case as it proceeded not least the constant delay in bringing the issues to trial, the inability of the defendants to summon witnesses for their defence and, in the end, the inevitable plea bargaining. It is this latter aspect of the American legal system that I find so alien to our own modern legal system as it encourages defendants to say anything about anyone rather as those under torture from mediaeval “examiners” used to do.
I submit this evidence because I have a very real interest and indeed latent fear. I was once an Assistant Secretary employed by Her Majesty’s Caymanian Civil Service to regulate the financial affairs of insurance entities and personnel in the Cayman Islands. Under the laws pertaining to that jurisdiction I cannot give any detail to your Lordships of particular cases and that would also be the case should any US prosecutor ever wish to ask me questions. I regularly travel to the USA but always with that fear that I might be summarily arrested to take part in some show trial relating to some perceived “fraud” on the US tax system. I know I have never committed any offences myself but the judicial history of the USA shows that this is apparently of little count. They are even considering prosecuting a Catholic priest for refusing to reveal confessional secrets.
I urge your Lordships to bear in mind the imminent octocentenary of our own Magna Carta which set out the basis on which we have built the rules of Habeas Corpus under which all of us have a right to know of what we are charged and to trial by our own peers. We should always insist that residents of the UK should not be extradited without a prima facie case against them being tested in a UK court. More importantly, if the alleged crime took place in the UK or one of its Crown Dependencies, a UK judge should be able to bar their extradition so that they can be tried in a UK court – or not if the CPS so decides. I am also horrified to discover that the automatic right of appeal against an extradition order has been taken away. This is surely a breach of all of our human rights and it should be reinstated as soon as possible. I also understand that the Home Secretary is no longer able to block extraditions that would breach human rights and again I find this unacceptable. This country is a signatory to the Human Rights Convention which protects the right to conscience and liberty and insists on due process of law. The American legal system has, sadly, moved a long way away from such principles and should be strongly resisted. Given that country’s political and economic power I feel that legal aid for cases involving extradition should never be means tested.
I had previously ended there but in the interim the case of baby King has occurred. I do not know if due process was actually followed but, if true, then the due process seems extra-ordinarily flawed. I have also read today of a case where Interpol were alerted to track down a couple who had quite legally gone to France with their baby. Such cases bring the whole European arrest warrant into disrepute at a time when as a tool against gangsters and terrorism it needs strengthening.
We have a long and proud history of resisting tyrants and tyranny – I ask your Lordships to see this matter as exactly that kind of battle. The history of recent extradition cases to the USA is riddled with so many poorly constructed cases, all put together either to force evidence from unwilling witnesses or to make political capital out of what have seemed to be foolish people who have committed quite trivial and unremarkable offences usually in this country. Our country. The country you not the American Senate and Congress legislate for. As to the European angle, please put the powers given to magistrates back where they belong – in the fight against terrorism and cross-border gangs.