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The nature of extradition between America and Britain has been a burning issue for several years.
The 2003 UK Extradition Act laid into law the procedures by which people could be extradited to and from the US. It also confirmed the agreements from the 2003 US-UK Extradition Treaty, along with arrangements for other countries.
The Treaty modernised the extradition relationship between the U.S. and UK and strengthened each country’s ability to extradite serious offenders wanted for a wide variety of crimes.
In September 2010, the Home Secretary appointed a panel to study UK extradition issues, including the US/UK extradition relationship. That panel- the Baker Review - took evidence from government officials in both the US and the UK and also met with critics of the treaty.
The Review concluded that there was no imbalance in arrangements between the two countries.
Cases, like those of Christopher Tappin and Garry McKinnon, caused controversy in the UK.
MPs have called for arrangements between the two countries to be reviewed.
The Home Affairs Committee’s report was published on 30 March 2012, its main findings were:
The facts speak for themselves, as shown by the Baker Review tally:
| Total | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requests by US to UK | ||||||||
| Requests received | 36 | 8 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 19 | 18 | 11 |
| Arrests | 24 | 16 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 14 | 7 |
| Surrendered | 3 | 8 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 10 | 6 |
| Discharged (by courts) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Withdrawn (by requesting state) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Requests by UK to US | ||||||||
| Requests Made | 2 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| Returned to UK | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| Refused | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Withdrawn | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
It shows that the number of requests the US has made for extradition has fallen away quite sharply in recent years. And although lots of Brits have been arrested here after such a request, the number actually extradited is comparable with those Americans being sent to Britain.
A History of some of the more notable extraditions from the UK to the US:
Extradition procedures in the UK | Home Office
Extradition | Law | The Guardian
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The Huffington Post UK | By Asa Bennett Posted: 30/03/2012 06:46 Updated: 30/03/2012 06:46