ARREST FOR PURPOSES OF COMMITTAL (Hansard, 28 June 1988)

§ Mr. John Patten
I beg to move amendment No. 188, in page 6, line 11, leave out 'a metropolitan stipendiary magistrate or by' and insert— 261
'(i) the chief metropolitan stipendiary magistrate or metropolitan stipendiary magistrate designated for the purposes of this Part of this Act by the Lord Chancellor; or

(ii)'

Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this it will be convenient to consider Government amendments Nos. 189, 190 and 191.

§ Mr. Patten
The purpose of these amendments is to embody in law the present arrangement by which extradition cases in England and Wales are dealt with at Bow street by specialist magistrates. The present references in clauses 5 and 6 to "a metropolitan stipendiary magistrate" goes wider than this. It is right for the House to recognise that Bow street magistrates court will quite rightly remain the centre for extradition committals. I know that all practitioners in extradition, such as my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Mr. Stanbrook), will continue to expect extradition cases to be dealt with as at present by the chief metropolitan magistrate, Sir David Hopkin, and his magisterial colleagues and for advice to continue to be given by the learned clerk at Bow street, Mrs. Ferley. For this reason the amendments replace the term "a metropolitan stipendiary magistrate" with references to the chief metropolitan stipendiary magistrate or metropolitan stipendiary magistrate designated for the purposes of this Part of this Act by the Lord Chancellor".