Sunday, 22 August 2010

European Arrest Warrant

Witterings From Witney has a spot-on post regarding this report in the Telegraph today:
The number of people in Britain seized under the controversial "no-evidence-needed" European Arrest Warrant rose by more than 50 per cent last year, figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph show.

David Blunkett, the former home secretary who introduced the European warrants, admitted he had been "insufficiently sensitive" about how they could be "overused". David Davis, his former Tory shadow, last night called for a "review and reform" of the extradition system.
As Witherings rightly points out:
1. David Blunkett did not 'introduce' the European warrants, the EU did and all Blunkett did was 'administer' their introduction.

2. How David Davis believes that calling for a 'review and reform' can be implemented (which is implied can be done by Westminster) I would love to know.

3. The statement from the Home Office spokesman is likewise misleading as the Government cannot 'review' the UK's extradition arrangements anymore than I can.
The Telegraph concludes with:
A Home Office spokesman said: “The Government is committed to reviewing the UK’s extradition arrangements.”
That's a 'nothing will change anytime soon' comment then

One wonders how long it will be before the 'spacesuit wearing' Theresa May makes a similar "insufficiently sensitive" confession about the European Investigation Order.

3 comments:

  1. A point everyone seems to miss is that the comment about reviewing extradition is a complete red herring.

    The issue is not extradition. Nobody is being extradited, that is a completely different process, used by foreign countries (cf. the EU which is not foreign at all but is actually our government).

    The issue is these purely administrative processes which give other EU jurisdictions power over British Subjects, but without the guarantees, controls, and safeguards which we formerly enjoyed, and think we still have.

    It is wrong and need to be changed but it is not extradition.

    Can we leave yet?

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