I SEE from your article (Evening News, December 1) about the British plane-spotters arrested in Greece, that our Foreign Office are "concerned" about their conditions of detention.
We should all be concerned, both for them and for our own freedom, if our Government gets its way over the proposed new European Union arrest warrant.
The New-Labour control-freaks are rushing to implement all sorts laws under the smokescreen of "anti terrorist" measures, following the September 11 atrocities.
Most of these measures have little to do with preventing further terrorist attacks but everything to do with harmonising EU laws to create a unified European state (without, of course, bothering to consult the British people).
Under the new EU-wide arrest warrant, the plane-spotters, even if they had come back to Britain, would be liable to immediate extradition on the request of a Greek judge.
No evidence would be required.
Indeed, the alleged offence would not even have to be illegal under English law. Most of the other EU countries operate a system of arrest on suspicion and have no tradition of Habeas Corpus; so that a suspect can languish in jail for a very long time while the state prosecutor "constructs" a case against them.
The other very disturbing aspect of the current Anti-Terrorism, Security and Crime Bill, currently being rushed/forced through our Parliament, is article 109.
This would allow all future EU justice and home affairs issues to be passed through our Parliament by secondary legislation. That is to say, wide-ranging issues of law and order would receive no debate at all in Parliament, and would simply be passed by the 15 justice ministers of the EU, behind closed doors.
R G SPENCER,
Malvern, Worcestershire.
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