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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

I accept the Minister’s first point that the Government do not intend to transfer any extradition policy to the Northern Ireland Assembly. I tabled the amendment because I wanted such clarification, so the Minister has reassured me. I am rather hesitant to accept the assurance on the second point, however. It has already been pointed out that the British Government have implemented their part of the new extradition arrangements with America in that white-collar workers and executives who are being investigated by the American authorities for criminal offences of a commercial nature have been extradited to America without a prima facie case being made against them. I refer the Minister to an interesting article that was published not so long ago in a newspaper that he perhaps occasionally reads: The Guardian. On 15 December 2005, a certain Larry Elliot—he is not a constituent, so I have no personal axe to grind—wrote:"““America’s decision not to make the agreement reciprocal followed pressure from the powerful Irish-American lobby, which feared that Britain might try to extradite republican sympathisers.””" Although I accept that the Minister cannot influence an American Committee or a different jurisdiction, extradition is in the Bill and is thus a legitimate matter to raise. Individuals who committed the most heinous crimes in Northern Ireland are still on the run in America, enjoying their freedom. They have never faced the courts. I urge the Minister to have a quiet, dignified word with the Home Secretary to ensure that there is no blockage at all to the reciprocal arrangements.