Opposing this Treaty is not anti-American
July 13, 2006 9:01 AM
MPs on all sides made a clear protest against the extradition of the NatWest 3 yesterday in an emergency debate secured by the Liberal Democrats. The 3 men face extradition today as a result of a unilaterally signed treaty with the US (which hasn't been ratified by the US Senate) which allows extradition of UK citizens to the US without any evidence being provided to judges.
Insufficient scrutiny was given to the UK/US Extradition Act in 2003, which only the Liberal Democrats opposed at the time. The Bill was initially argued for as a measure for fighting terrorism - the case of the NatWest 3 makes a mockery of that. There are another 20 extradition cases under this Act waiting to be dealt with.
The Government has in the past dismissed criticism of the Act as 'anti-americanism'. This case highlights that criticism has rather more to do with the Government failing to protect the basic rights of UK citizens.
The Government lost a symbolic vote at the end of yesterday's debate by a huge 246 to 4. The Conservatives, who abstained in 2003, are now seeing that Lib Dem MPs were right to be cautious and to call for a fuller debate and scrutiny at the time. The Act should now be suspended, and the Government should put a stop to unfair extradition.
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