My Lords, I shall confine my observations to the issues arising in the report connected to the European arrest warrant. I do so for perhaps the curious reason that the arrest warrant seems to have been a part of my life for the best part of five years, not just one. Prior to serving on this committee, I served on the European Sub-Committee E for four years, where the issue of scrutiny of European arrest warrants was a regular part of my practice, although I have not yet been served with one.
The second feature of the evidence that we received, which I have heard in previous scrutiny cases, is that despite the many pungent criticisms that have been made of the European arrest warrant and the examples of manifest injustice that have occurred, nevertheless the overwhelming opinion of witness after witness was that we should stay within the European arrest warrant system. It was therefore with very considerable relief that we heard that the coalition Government had
eventually agreed to do so. We came to the same conclusions in both our interim and substantive reports. The evidence, for example, covered Operation Captura, under which some 61 criminals have been brought back to justice. These were not some romantic robber barons: they included one of the most serious paedophile cases, which I think the Home Secretary invoked when defending the Government’s decision to rejoin the European arrest warrant.
Having said that, we should not be unaware of or deny the valid criticisms of the system. In some cases, there have been clear examples—such as Mr Symeou and Mr Graham Mitchell—of manifest injustice. I refer in particular to Mr Mitchell because he gave us very moving evidence of his nightmarish experience under the process.
Mr Mitchell and a friend were on holiday in the Algarve in May 1994, when he was accused of attempted murder. He was held in pre-trial detention for a year. At the trial he and the other person charged were found not guilty and released. Then, some two years later, the Portuguese supreme court quashed Mr Mitchell’s acquittal, although he was not at all aware of that, and proceeded somewhat later to seek a European arrest warrant. The warrant was served on Mr Mitchell, and he was arrested and held for proceedings at the Westminster magistrates’ court. However, in May 2012 the Portuguese authorities—having traumatised a citizen in the most appalling manner—withdrew the request.
A question immediately arises, which I would like to put to the Minister. For all the various changes that we have made and are making—the so-called soft measures and the safeguards—are we certain that it is now highly unlikely that a British citizen will ever encounter the kind of experience that Mr Mitchell and Mr Symeou had? Are we as certain as we can be that the sort of manifest injustices that have arisen are now highly unlikely to occur? I will be grateful if the Minister, when he replies, addresses that question. That is what many citizens will be saying that we want from the changes and amendments that have been made—to ensure that such cases will not be repeated.
The second issue surrounding the European arrest warrant is that of proportionality, and the principle that such a warrant should be a last resort, not a first resort. In this respect the committee endorsed the Government’s legislation on proportionality, but we received quite a lot of evidence doubting its efficacy. Inevitably, the particular problems of Poland were mentioned, and both the committee and the Government have emphasised the response and the changes that the Polish authorities are now endeavouring to make to their arrangements. An extraordinary number of cases originated from Poland: 90% of the cases in Scotland were Polish cases. That should now be reduced, and a degree of proportionality should be properly introduced.
The Government claim that its proportionality bar and other things are working, and that there is a reduction. I would therefore be grateful if the Minister would update us on the figures in table 3, on page 40 of the report, to include the figures for 2014-2015. Let us see whether the trend in such cases, particularly those involving Poland, is at least going in the right direction.
I noticed with some interest and satisfaction that in their response the Government drew to our attention the fact that the National Crime Agency has refused to certify a total of 196 European arrest warrants on grounds of proportionality and other discretionary grounds. That is to be welcomed. They also claim that they are pushing for the principle of last resort to be the basis of the revision of the Commission’s handbook —a handbook of guidance and advice for member states. How far has the Minister got, and how successful has he been, in pursuing the Government’s efforts to ensure that proportionality and the principle of last resort will be central to the revised Commission handbook? As the Government made the case about the importance of revising the handbook in their response, will he explain where we stand on that issue?
I draw attention to one other recommendation that we made on the European arrest warrant. Recommendation 16, in paragraph 315, says,
“the Government and the European Commission should work to establish further guidelines on the execution of EAWs to ensure that they are conducted in the least hostile manner possible”.
I cannot see a proper reply or response to that recommendation in the Government’s response, so I ask the Minister whether they have followed it up.
I recall that one of the reasons why that recommendation was made was the evidence of a Polish gentleman, Mr Wolkowicz, who suffered the most intolerable indignities being extradited in a wheelchair, rolling around in a Second World War Polish plane. Indeed, it caught fire, but fortunately it was on the ground. That sort of thing, as well as the experiences of those who have been extradited to the United States, suggest that we should at least try to execute the warrants in a more a sensible, civilised way than appears to have been done in some cases.
It has been a pleasure to serve on the committee under the chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Inglewood. I have to tell the Minister ever so gently that our considered and carefully argued report deserved a rather better response than the one that we received. The curious self-congratulatory tone of the Government’s response does not do justice to our first-class report.
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