Extradition Bill
4:30 pm
Viscount Bledisloe (Crossbench)
My Lords, I find this amendment remarkable. A short while ago, the noble Baroness moved Amendment No. 1 to explain that:
"The purpose of this Act . . . is to give effect to the Council Framework Decision of 13th June 2002".
As I understand it, the Council framework decision of 13th June 2002 lists a very large number of crimes to which this procedure is to apply. For those of your Lordships who are not already grossly over-bored with this matter, they will find that list in Amendment No. 328. Obviously, a large number of the serious crimes listed there are not terrorist offences.
Ten minutes after telling us that we should say that the Bill is intended to give effect to the Council framework decision, the noble Baroness moved an amendment designed to ensure that it does not give effect to about 75 per cent of that framework decision. I am never surprised by inconsistency among politicians, but this takes even me somewhat aback.