The Report - Extradition
Britain's controversial extradition laws will be in focus again today, as courts decide on America's request for a Kent businessman, Christopher Tappin, to face charges on selling batteries to Iran. In The Report this week, Mukul Devichand investigates who can be sent abroad to face trial and finds that high profile requests from America are just the tip of the iceberg. The system allows over 40 countries to request British citizens without a full hearing of the evidence against them and a third of European requests come from just one country: Poland. Mukul explores claims that Britain's courts are being flooded by requests for petty criminals - for example, the man being extradited to Poland for stealing 20 chocolate bars. Former Home Secretary David Blunkett helped push these laws through in the years after the 9/11 attacks, but in a remarkably frank exchange, he tells The Report that he now "regrets" aspects of the law -- and discusses the need for change.
Published on Thursday, 2nd September 2010.
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