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Police and Justice Bill

The Government’s assurances on many of those questions have proved quite worthless. I want to return to the central point about forum provision. I do not wish to revive the polemical arguments that were made in an earlier debate about my constituents and my hon. Friends constituents who are involved in banking. Aspersions have been cast on their innocence, but if a crime that counters UK interests is allegedly committed in the UK by UK nationals, it is a matter of simple justice that it should be tried in this country. All the other countries that have treaties with the US have either the evidentiary protection that I have discussed or the protection offered by a forum provision. The French and the Irish have such a provision. The French would not dream of extraditing one of their own nationals and the Irish insist that a judge decides whether it is in the interests of justice that the suspect be taken to the US. In conclusion, there is a simple task before us. We should give effect to article 7 of the European convention and we should agree to the Lords amendments. I am delighted that the hon. and learned Member for Medway (Mr. Marshall-Andrews) agrees with at least one of them and I hope to see him in the Division Lobby. We have a chance to do something very simple of great benefit to our constituents. It would reassure the country that we are not poodling needlessly to the United States. It would show that we are not a banana republic that needs to contract out to America trials of complicated financial offences that are alleged to have been committed by UK subjects on UK soil against UK interests. That is contrary to justice and we have a chance to remedy it tonight.