Sir
Extradition proceedings may well take too long (Suspects face fast-track removal - Independent 21st June p6). But does the Home Office so lack imagination that it believes the only way to speed up a judicial process is by opening the door wide to potential injustice?

We have no objection to speeding up the bureaucracy of the process, but standards and protections must be maintained. Before people - who may well be innocent - are taken away from their homes to a foreign prison, under foreign laws, British courts should continue to be able to assess the strength of evidence against a person

We've already seen US allegations of a UK resident's direct involvement in serious terrorism dissolve into claims of a minor misdemeanour under the slightest scrutiny. People already have concerns about the treatment of British nationals accused of crimes abroad (the planespotters in Greece will leap to may people's minds).

Whatever the facts of individuals cases, the point is clear: our courts should establish there is a good reason for the huge step of extradition before people are sent abroad. Reducing appeals puts that process at risk: the EU arrest warrant practically destroys it.

Extradition protections are not about helping people evade justice: they're about helping ensure that justice is actually done. The Home Office's efforts are pulling in the wrong direction; once again, they are trying to answer problems of resources and bureaucracy by weakening safeguards for justice.

Yours
John Wadham
Director - Liberty

21 Tabard Street
London SE1 4LA
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