Friday 26 March 2010

Abrogation of responsibity

On March 25 there was a response to Lord Pearson's Written Question:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which United Kingdom citizens have been extradited under the European arrest warrant; for which alleged crimes; to which European countries; and how long they have spent in custody awaiting trial.
HMG's response, as conveyed by Lord West of Spithead, was:
The Serious Organised Crime Agency and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (for Scotland) are the designated authorities in the UK responsible for processing European arrest warrants (EAWs). It is not possible from current systems to break down the number of EAWs received by the UK into nationality, alleged offence type and requesting EU member state. To do so would require a manual examination of all files and incur disproportionate cost. Once a person has been extradited from the UK to another jurisdiction, the designated authorities' involvement in the EAW process ceases.

How long a person is held on remand awaiting trial, whether in custody or on bail, is governed by the law of the requesting state and this can vary from country to country. Internationally accepted standards usually allow for a two-year period of detention before trial, depending on the circumstances of the case. While the UK is unable to interfere in the legal processes of another country, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, if appropriate, will consider making inquiries with local authorities to establish the reason for any delay in trial proceedings for any British national held on remand for more than 24 months.
How nice. We have surrendered our right to examine whether that extradition request is acceptable and, apparently, we have lost all interest in what happens to the unfortunate person thus handed over. Undoubtedly, being part of the EU makes us stronger in the world.

3 comments:

  1. A simple 5 line question elicits a 22 line response which shows that this government just accepts any EAW, appears to keep no records that are readily accessible, and once you are taken out of the country washes it's hands of any responsibility for you as a citizen.

    This response shows just how lucky Michael Turner and Jason McGoldrick were to have William Dartmouth MEP, UKIP of course, to represent them and help secure their release after 4 months in a Hungarian Jail.

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  2. Speaking of "abrogation of responsibility", what is the truth behind the accusations that all your 12 MEPs "wandered out" and let Socialist climate-levy legislation through by a margin of 5 votes?

    "The European Parliament passed a motion — by five votes — which will force European taxpayers to hand over cash to the Third World for “climate change” because most of the useless UKIP MEPs wandered out of the chamber before the final vote."

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  3. 'Anonymous said...

    Speaking of "abrogation of responsibility", what is the truth behind the accusations that all your 12 MEPs "wandered out" and let Socialist climate-levy legislation through by a margin of 5 votes?'

    Typical leftwing approach !

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