Suspects face fast-track removal in overhaul of extradition laws
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Your support makes all the difference.Britain's extradition laws are to be overhauled, allowing suspected terrorists and criminals to be deported six times more quickly than at present.
The average time for cases to be dealt with would be cut from 18 months to three months, under proposed reforms contained in a draft Bill to be published by the Home Office in the next few weeks.
The extradition system is to be streamlined, with several legal rights of appeal to be axed. The measures, which follow widespread criticism from EU ministers and the United States over the difficulty of extraditing suspects from Britain, will anger civil liberty groups and human rights' lawyers who considered the appeal system a vital way of protecting the innocent.
The measures will cut the expense of extradition cases, which cost, on average, £125,000 each.
There are 186 people in custody in England and Wales fighting extradition. Cases can go on for years. One such case involves five suspects in the al-Qa'ida network who have cost the taxpayers more than £1m in legal aid.
Extradition warrants issued by British police officers for wanted drug dealers, sex offenders and killers living in the EU will also be speeded up. At present, it takes on average about a year to extradite someone to this country.
Last year, the Home Office received 133 requests from foreign governments for the extradition of suspects. Some 55 people were extradited, although some of these were cases from previous years.
In the same period, Britain lodged applications for 82 people to be returned to face trial in this country. Fifty-two people were sent back.
The lengthy appeals systems has led to Britain being seen as a haven for terrorists. Ministers have decided to take action in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on America.
But human rights' campaigners argued rigorous checks and balances are needed to ensure people who have not been convicted of offences are given proper protection.
Under the extradition draft Bill, the need for the Home Secretary to be involved will be removed and the appeal rights of the suspect at several stages will be curbed.
The legislation will also involve the adoption of a new European arrest warrant that will mean all EU member states recognise decisions taken by each other's courts. So, once a court in Germany issues an arrest warrant for a fugitive in Britain, there is no need for the same evidence to be presented in a British court.
A Home Office source said: "We want to stop people evading justice. There is so much duplication and delay. People can play the system and string their cases along for years."
Among the alleged terrorists still fighting extradition is Khalid al-Fawwaz, a Saudi who is wanted in the US to answer charges of involvement in the bombing of American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, which killed 228 people.
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