Extradition Laws Between UK And US 'Unfair'

Controversial extradition arrangements between the US and UK need to be rebalanced to restore public confidence, according to an influential group of MPs.

The treaty, introduced shortly after the 9/11 attacks, is being threatened by concerns over a series of high-profile cases and MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee have called for an overhaul, despite recognising its importance.

The committee has warned that there is a risk those issues "will translate into wider disaffection".

It is the second Parliamentary report to reach similar conclusions in less than a year.

In June 2011, the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) called for the Government to re-negotiate the treaty to "ensure British citizens get the same protection as Americans".

The latest report comes as Home Secretary Theresa May considers the results of an independent review by former Court of Appeal judge Sir Scott Baker, which found the treaty was both "balanced and fair".

The Home Affairs Select Committee said it wanted "significant changes" not because it was critical of the US justice system, but "because we recognise the importance of robust extradition arrangements between our two countries".

Keith Vaz, the committee's chairman, said: "The treaty is unbalanced, making it easier to extradite a British citizen to the USA than vice versa."

He added: "Prosecutors must be required to produce evidence in support of an extradition request and the accused should have the right to challenge that evidence in court."

The committee's review of extradition proceedings comes as retired businessman and all-Kent Golf Club Union president Christopher Tappin , 65, is held in jail in New Mexico while he awaits trial on arms dealing charges after being extradited last month.

Mr Tappin's son, Neil, said: "In my father's case, he's gone now and there's nothing that can be done to help him, but he would have at least been able to see the evidence against him and his lawyers would have been able to test that evidence.

"I think that's quite important. Does that evidence reach the sort of threshold that it should reach in this country?"

Asperger's sufferer Gary McKinnon, 46, from Wood Green, north London, is still waiting to hear whether he will be extradited over charges he hacked into US military computers 10 years ago.

His mother, Janis Sharp, said she welcomed the recommendation of a proper evidence test by the authorities seeking extradition.

She said: "In Gary's last court hearing in 2009, the Crown Prosecution Service admitted that they had received no evidence whatsoever from America, only hearsay.

"If we had the same rights as Americans have, you wouldn't be getting the injustices that are happening, I'm sure."

The Home Affairs Select Committee concluded: "Evidence to the committee has shown that the current arrangements do not protect the rights of British citizens. The Government must remedy this immediately."

However, the US ambassador to the UK, Louis B Susman strongly defended the treaty in a statement to the committee, saying it was fair, balanced and "promotes the interests of justice in both our countries".

He said: "The constant use of skewed arguments and wilful distortion of the facts by some to advance their own agendas remains of great concern to the United States."

Speaking on a visit to the US earlier this month, David Cameron raised the issue of the extradition treaty with President Barack Obama.

"We will be following this up with further talks between our teams," the Prime Minister said.

"I recognise that there are concerns about how it is implemented in practice and that's what our teams will look at."

The Home Office and US State Department said they would be considering the detail of the report.