The Extradition (Provisional Arrest) Bill (“the Bill”) will have Committee, Report and Third Reading, held as one sitting on the floor of the House on Tuesday 8 September] I am taking this opportunity to explain why I believe the Bill is necessary and its purpose in advance of the debate.
This Bill creates a new power of provisional arrest. This is because a domestic policing capability gap currently exists between the UK’s ability to respond to international arrest requests from EU countries compared to those from non-EU countries. Currently, a suspect stopped by UK police or Border Force Officers cannot be detained immediately even when they are identified as a fugitive, unless they are wanted under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW), or under a warrant issued under the Norway/Iceland Surrender Agreement. Only those warrant-based systems allow an immediate arrest to take place. In all other cases where a suspect is encountered the police must seek a domestic arrest warrant from a UK judge and try and locate the suspect again once it has been obtained.
This Bill extends the power of immediate arrest to international arrest alerts issued by certain countries for serious offences to address this gap. It does not change any other part of the extradition system or process. It simply gives UK law enforcement officers the power to arrest individuals wanted by specified countries for serious offences as soon as they encounter them. Thereafter the Courts, as now, determine the course of their extradition proceedings.
The Bill only applies to serious offences which would be criminal in the UK and punishable by at least three years imprisonment and where the conduct constituting the offence is sufficiently serious to justify their arrest. There must be an existing underlying warrant or conviction in the requesting country and the arrested individual must be brought before a judge as soon as practicable after arrest.
The power does not alter extradition proceedings in any other way and does not interfere with the court or Secretary of State’s role in the extradition process.
To be clear: a UK court has no obligation to extradite a suspect who has been arrested using this, or any power and the protections for every person who faces extradition in the UK remain in place within the Extradition Act 2003. This Bill does not make any individual extradition any more or less likely. The Bill allows UK law enforcement officers to better protect the British public and get potentially dangerous offenders off UK streets. It does not provide any advantage for the countries that are listed in the Bill.
I have also tabled an amendment as a contingency to ensure that UK law enforcement officers can continue to make provisional arrests as is currently the case under the European Arrest Warrant and Norway/Iceland warrant-based systems. Those systems will cease to operate at the end of the Transition Period.
The safety and security of our citizens is our top priority. The immediate power of arrest provided for by our current warrant-based arrangements with the EU, Norway and Iceland is a valuable capability that does not currently exist for extradition requests from any other countries. If alternative arrangements are not in place with the EU potentially dangerous criminals wanted across Europe would not be immediately arrestable if they were encountered by UK law enforcement or Border Force Officers if an immediate power of arrest is not provided for in this Bill.
To illustrate the case for maintaining these protections; last year nearly 1100 persons wanted by EU Member States were arrested in the UK and between 60-70% of these were a result of chance encounters. It is these arrests that this amendment provides the contingency for. It would be unacceptable to strip police in the UK of the powers they already have and will continue to need to arrest these fugitives. This ‘contingent’ amendment represents responsible planning to continue current levels of public protection if an alternative arrangement is not in place by the end of the Transition Period and will only be commenced if there is no agreement with our EU partners.
This legislation will ensure that, in appropriate cases, the police do not have to allow known and alleged offenders, flagged on Interpol systems, to walk free while they apply to the court for a UK arrest warrant. I have attached a short fact sheet which sets out further details on the Bill.
We remain committed to reaching a balanced and reciprocal agreement with the EU on law enforcement and criminal justice that equips operational partners on both sides with capabilities that help protect the public and bring criminals to justice – protecting the security of all our citizens. We will continue to work hard to reach agreement, with a formal round taking place this week, however, as a responsible government, it is essential that we take steps to ensure the security of UK citizens in the UK in any scenario.
Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP