Baroness Smith of Basildon
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European Arrest Warrant
Baroness Smith of Basildon Excerpts(10 years ago)
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Lord Bates
The noble Lord is absolutely right. That is why the Government are bringing this forward and seeking urgent agreement on it.
Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)
My Lords, the Minister will be aware of the comments in the letter from the Irish Government expressing their concern that if there is any gap between the Government opting out of the international arrest warrant and opting back in again, that will have serious implications for arresting those involved in terrorism. What response have the Government made to this, and what discussions have they had with other countries which may be expressing similar concerns?
Lord Bates
The noble Baroness is absolutely right. That is why we want to ensure that there will be no gap in respect of this, and I am confident that there will not be. Only one country out of the 22 with which we are currently in bilateral negotiations has a concern about this. We believe that that concern can be overcome within a matter of days.