Last October the Home Secretary took the decision – on human rights grounds – to end Gary McKinnon’s ten-year ordeal and block his removal. Gary’s case drew widespread condemnation of our extradition arrangements but, shockingly, one of the provisions that allowed him to remain in the UK has been scrapped and the other is now under attack.
Earlier this year the Home Secretary repealed the power she used to bar extradition in Gary’s case. Now the Home Office wants to do the same with the automatic right of appeal. The automatic right of appeal against an extradition order is a vital protection. It allows people to argue their case in the High Court where they’re able to present all the up-to-date evidence and challenge the reasoning of the initial order. Yet the Government has quietly slipped a clause into the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill which would see this safeguard stripped away altogether. Such a backward step from Coalition parties who both previously promised reform is breathtaking. Without this right, Gary could have been removed without any further consideration of evidence – old or new – that showed what a serious risk to his life extraditing him posed.
The Home Office argues that only a small percentage of appeals are successful and that the automatic mechanism is therefore unnecessary. This is flawed logic. The statistics for successful appeals point more to the lack of protection elsewhere in the system rather than frivolous use. There are shockingly few grounds on which you can appeal an extradition order following the removal of procedural protections in 2003. As Talha Ahsan, Babar Ahmad, Richard O’Dwyer and others have found, extradition can be ordered without a basic case being made in a UK court and even where the activity alleged took place in the UK. But instead of removing the automatic right of appeal, the Government should be putting meaningful protections back on the statue book and retaining appeal rights to ensure they are applied.
In any event the trauma of extradition, and its devastating human cost, makes automatic appeal essential as a matter of principle. Because, irrespective of the end result – when you may be cleared of wrongdoing – being sent across the world to face trial feels like a punishment in itself and must be properly challenged. Losing your employment, separated from family and friends, most likely detained pre-trial, navigating a foreign legal system, funding your defence – the implications for those extradited and their loved ones cannot be exaggerated. An automatic appeal right is essential. It has prevented past injustice and it must not be lost.
The Government’s discreet but dangerous move has been largely missed so we urgently need your help. The Bill is due back for debate in Autumn and we need you to email your MPs during their summer recess – asking them to drop this clause for good. For all those still to endure the ordeal that Gary suffered, the fight for fairness starts now.
