Extradition Act 2003 (Designation of Part 2 Territories) Order 2003
3:45 pm
Earl Russell (Liberal Democrat)
My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, said that she is not supporting the amendment because the United States is, in effect, our oldest ally. Technically, I believe that that honour belongs to Portugal, but I do not argue with the spirit of what she said. I am aware of a long-standing and vital friendship to which it is possible that I may owe my life. I was accidentally in America in 1939 and I returned across the Atlantic in 1944 in circumstances in which, without American protection, it is likely I might never have reached these shores.
However, justice is proverbially blind. As soon as you enter a world where in matters of justice you give a respect to people because they are your friends but will not give that to other people because they are not your friends, the very principle of justice itself is at risk. It is blind; it must remain blind. The fact that a country is a friend of ours is no excuse—