DM joins Downing Street lobby on EU arrest warrant
9th December 2002

The Democracy Movement has joined an initiative by the Shadow Home Secretary Oliver Letwin MP and human rights group Liberty to oppose the introduction of the EU arrest warrant.

This EU measure is incorporated in the government's Extradition Bill and represents a major attack on our civil liberties.

The initiative was launched with a joint lobby of Downing Street by representatives of the three groups, followed by a press conference in Westminster.

WORDING OF THE PETITION DELIVERED TO
10 DOWNING STREET

Dear Prime Minister,

The Conservative Party, Liberty, the Democracy Movement and others are extremely concerned by proposals in the Extradition Bill allowing British citizens to be extradited for offences that are not criminal in the UK.

We believe that extradition should only apply to serious offences to guard against thousands of individuals being sent abroad for very minor or trivial offences.

We also believe that the list of offences in the Bill that can give rise to extradition os too vague and too wide and includes unacceptably ambiguous offences such as "computer related crime".

We further believe that the passage of the Bill represents a serious and unwarranted attack on the civil liberties of all those resident in the United Kingdom.

We hope and trust that the Government will pay heed to these concerns and implement legislation that can command universal support and not give rise to such disquiet.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Letwin MP
Dominic Grieve MP
Humfrey Malins MP
John Wadham, Liberty
Russell Walters, Democracy Movement
Clive Nicholls QC

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