Extradition

David Burrowes Excerpts

Thursday 24th November 2011 Westminster Hall

[Mr Dominic Raab (Esher and Walton) (Con)]

It is a tremendous pleasure and privilege to speak under your chairmanship, Mr Rosindell, for, I believe, the first time. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for allocating time for a debate on this subject in Westminster Hall. I welcome the presence and participation of the Immigration Minister and thank him in advance for engaging proactively on such an important issue.

The Home Office is often berated for letting too many people into the United Kingdom, so it is something of a novelty for Ministers to face the reverse criticism. Yet, as the Joint Committee on Human Rights, of which I am a member, pointed out in its most recent report on extradition, there are flaws in and widespread concerns about our extradition laws. There are concerns about the UK-US extradition treaty of 2003, in which paragraph 3(c) of article 8 sets different evidential thresholds for the two countries. The United States did not ratify the treaty until 2007, but for clarity, my understanding is that it has relied on the lower burden of proof available to it since 2004.

Lawyers can bicker about whether there is a substantive difference between the requirement that the US has to satisfy—the reasonable suspicion test—and the requirement that the UK has to satisfy, which is showing probable cause. The fact is that, in operational terms, since 2004, 24 Britons have been extradited to the United States under the new arrangements, and just one American has been extradited to Britain. In practice, in the way they affect our respective citizens, the arrangements have practically been all one way.

The main problem, in my view—others will speak about the individual cases of their constituents—is the absence of any discretion to allow the UK to decline extradition in cross-border cases, having taken into account the interests of justice. That has been the problem in the case of Gary McKinnon, which is equally, or more about the injustice in dispatching a young man with Asperger’s syndrome hundreds of miles from home on allegations of computer hacking, when he was apparently searching for unidentified flying objects, than about the alleged offence or the evidential threshold. More misfit than terrorist, he should not be equated with some high-level al-Qaeda suspect or gangster.

[Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this incredibly important debate and on raising the case of my constituent, Gary McKinnon, at an early stage. My hon. Friend has already mentioned the issue of disparity. Does there not seem to be a self-evident statistical disparity? I understand that, in the past 40 years, three suspected terrorists were extradited from the United States to this country, in comparison with the situation facing Gary McKinnon, who is being prosecuted on the basis of alleged terrorism.

[Mr Raab]

I thank my hon. Friend for that historical context, and I certainly accept it. It is important to have a practical, operational background about the numbers of cases, so that the debate does not become a dry, lawyer’s debate about the terms of the treaty or the Extradition Act 2003.

We have legislation in place to inject a dose of common sense and discretion into the McKinnon case and other such cases. The Government ought to bring that into force as a matter of priority.

I understand the US’s concern. I have spoken to officials from the US embassy, and I understand their concerns regarding the treaty’s operation. They make quite strong arguments about the discrepancy between the evidential thresholds. None the less, in the US’s extradition treaty relations with, to name but a few, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, the domestic authorities in those countries have the right to decline extradition in these and much wider circumstances. Why should Britain, a stalwart ally, not request such a modest adjustment?

The problems created by the European arrest warrant have proven to be even more serious and far more widespread than those created by the US treaty. First, there are cases that are exemplified by the case of Andrew Symeou. Andrew, a British student, was whisked off to Greece under a European arrest warrant for involvement in a fight at a nightclub that left another man dead, which is a serious offence. Andrew was extradited, despite eye-witness accounts that he was not at the club at the time.

Fast-track European Union extradition is based on the assumption that standards of justice are adequate across Europe. We all put our faith in that assumption, but I am afraid that the Symeou case and many others show that that assumption is a sham and a fraud. We cannot understand the operation of the EAW without understanding that fraud—the assumption that all the justice systems operate to a similarly high standard.

Let us look at the Symeou case. Greek police beat identical statements out of witnesses, which were then retracted. Andrew Symeou spent almost a year in squalid prison conditions before being bailed. He was left with a flea-ridden blanket in a cell exposed to a sewer and crawling with cockroaches. He was abused by guards and witnessed another prisoner being beaten to death for drug money. The trial proceeded at a snail’s pace, with court translators who spoke scant English. He was eventually cleared in June this year, after a two-year ordeal, and he was left to rebuild his life.

The independent Baker review, commissioned by the coalition to look into the operation of our extradition relations, makes absolutely no recommendations for preventing such horror stories being inflicted on other innocent people—I use the word “innocent” advisedly, although that was clearly the case for Andrew Symeou. The Symeou case highlights the need for a higher evidential threshold—a prima facie test—to militate against the risk that fast-track extradition goes ahead on manifestly tainted evidence or spurious grounds.

The Baker report merely suggests that, over time and with effort, the justice systems and prison conditions across Europe will get better. All of us in the Chamber may well hope for that, but that view is naive at best and reckless at worst. I urge the Government to ignore that legalistic and simplistic analysis and think about what innocent people such as Andrew Symeou actually go through in real life.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con)]

What has today’s debate in Westminster Hall—on a matter worthy, as other hon. Members have said, of debate in the main Chamber—to offer? There has been a review by eminent lawyers and judges, who after consideration have given their weighty views on extradition. One outcome of the review—unintended, I hope—has been, certainly according to commentators, to pit judges against politicians, in what is almost a parody of self-serving, lobbied politicians and venerated, balanced judges with their measured approach. On that basis, there is no contest, and the Government should simply follow the recommendations in the weighty report.

It seems to me that, on a cross-party basis, we all say no to that. The Attorney-General has made it clear that the report is offering guidance, and that is all. It is for Government and, as we will say loud and clear today, for Parliament, to set the clear parameters of extradition. We should not lightly discount the strong views of Parliament. The June report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights has been mentioned, and it should be given due consideration, as should previous parliamentary votes on forum and the many previous debates.

The problem with the review is that it seems to betray a lack of appreciation of the shared responsibility that we have for extradition. It is an issue for politicians, Government and Parliament, not so much through party politics—the parties are properly reflected across the debate today—or through the activity of the lowest form of lobby-fodder, whether domestically or internationally on the sidelines of summits: the issue involves politics because extradition is the shared responsibility of accountable, elected politicians, who safeguard, together with the judiciary, the rights of UK citizens, in relation to liberty and security. The fact that extradition involves the surrender of the liberty of an individual, and giving up that citizen to the full force of the law of another country, must involve politicians as a matter of principle.

The review relies heavily on the argument about the risk of costs, complications and delays. We need to rise to meet the challenge by ensuring that we have an efficient but fair and just extradition system, with the appropriate safeguards. Not to do so is to abdicate our responsibilities. Indeed, it is that abdication, because of inadequate legislation under the previous Government, on which prosecutions, courts and politicians followed through, that has led to an unfair and inefficient extradition system. It was a profound cause of the nightmare of my constituent Gary McKinnon. I commend the Home Secretary, however, for being the first Home Secretary to take responsibility, remove the matter from the courts’ hands, and review the medical evidence.

I pay tribute to Gary McKinnon’s mother, Janice Sharp, who this week, quite properly, was awarded the Liberty “Close to Home” award for her passionate and sustained campaign for her son, and her campaign to reform extradition for the sake of other UK citizens. The Baker review made reference to Gary McKinnon’s case, but I believe it was misrepresented. The reality of the situation that he faces was not reflected in the somewhat dismissive, even cynical, comments about him. He has in effect been on bail for 10 years. That must be one of the most unwanted records for any British citizen in this country. Normally, we would only find such a situation under a despotic regime like Burma’s, not in Britain, the home of the rule of law.

We must recognise that Gary McKinnon’s life has a reality not reflected in weighty tomes. He lives in a largely hidden world, in a permanent state of fear. It is fear not of justice—he has always been open and willing to face justice in this country, including prosecution and, if appropriate, sentencing—but of extradition. His Asperger’s syndrome and mental illness put him in a 24-hour nightmare of anxiety, depression and suicide risk. As I said to the Prime Minister in a question earlier this year, his life is hanging on a thread. I did not exaggerate his case then, and I do not now. Gary McKinnon will not be extradited to the States because, as I am reliably informed, if a final decision were made to extradite him, he would take his life. Hon. Members need not take my word for it; they can take the word of his doctors.

The medical evidence was not considered by the Baker review. Obviously, it was not within the review’s primary remit, but the review has misrepresented Gary McKinnon’s position. I must make it clear that the review has no direct relevance to his future; that is being considered by the Home Secretary, on the basis of the medical evidence before her, to establish whether his human rights are being breached. However, without sight of that compelling medical evidence, which I have seen, and an appreciation of the evident breach of Gary McKinnon’s human rights, it is not possible for the review to represent his case fairly. If the Baker review had considered the medical evidence, I would defy it not to see Gary McKinnon’s case as an example of how woefully we have let down British citizens time and again, as we have heard today.

Gary McKinnon’s case is an example of the problem with extradition law, and it continues to highlight what the Baker review missed. Lessons to be learned from his case include, first, the need for proper judicial oversight to avoid undue political influence. We saw through Wikileaks how previous Prime Ministers effectively used Gary McKinnon as a political pawn in meetings with the United States. A forum bar would give courts the proper opportunity to make a judgment about the interests of justice, consider proportionality and medical evidence and make the right decision.

Secondly, prosecution authorities in dual criminality cases need to be able properly to consider whether enough transparent information has been passed between jurisdictions to account for the fullness of criminality, in order to determine the best venue for prosecutions. Thirdly, we need an Executive safeguard with appropriate judicial involvement and a shared responsibility to have better clarity and focus, in order to allow the Home Secretary to recognise her responsibility in terms of extradition—that might be in terms of human rights, or it might have to do with intelligence that comes to light in this or other countries—and make the right decision. That is necessary so that we can respect the rule of law, as I am sure Members across the House want to do, and the idea of an accountable Executive and Parliament.

We must also not ignore the treaty. British citizens in this country were sold down the river by the negotiations. Why have the Netherlands and Israel, for example, been able to negotiate agreements with the United States that any of their citizens extradited to the US and convicted there will be repatriated and sentenced in their home country? We do not have such an agreement. We must rely on assurances, promises and hope.

This is an issue of responsibility that includes a question of trust. Strong words have been said over a number of years on behalf of my constituent, including by Ministers before the election. The Prime Minister said:

“Gary McKinnon is a vulnerable young man and I see no compassion in sending him thousands of miles away from his home and loved ones to face trial. If he has questions to answer, there is a clear argument to be made that he should answer them in a British court. This case raises serious questions about the workings of the Extradition Act, which should be reviewed.”

That was relevant in 2009, and it is relevant in 2011.

The Minister present, after I raised my urgent question during the previous Parliament, said

“is it not a breach of his human rights to send a man with Asperger’s and depression to face a possible 60-year sentence?...It is, of course, horribly ironic that it would be illegal to send someone to another country to face an explicit death sentence.”—[Official Report, 1 December 2009; Vol. 501, c. 978.]

Let Gary McKinnon be a living and last reminder of how we have reformed extradition, not a dead reminder of how we have failed British citizens.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Bryant]

The Minister is shaking his head. Perhaps he will correct my impression in a moment.

[Mr Burrowes]

I rise in reference to Gary McKinnon. I am not aware of any suggestion from the Government that the Baker review is linked to Gary McKinnon because any measure would have to be applied retrospectively. The only determination in relation to Gary McKinnon relies on the review’s work with respect to medical evidence. It is important for us not to talk down the opportunities for Gary McKinnon on the back of the Baker review. It is primarily on the basis of the medical evidence that his case is being considered.

[Chris Bryant]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important correction. I apologise for that conflation of views. We have the Baker review now. I am sure that hon. Members are far more interested in hearing from the Minister about what the Government will do about this than in hearing from me.