§ Mr. LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what approaches he has made to the Spanish Government regarding sharing the costs to the UK taxpayer of the legal action brought against Senator Pinochet. [114048]
§ Mr. StrawIt would not be appropriate for me to make any such approach. The European Convention on Extradition, to which Spain and the United Kingdom are both parties, requires, under Article 24 of the Convention, that
expenses incurred in the territory of the requested Party by reason of extradition shall be borne by that Party.Costs under the Convention are, therefore, borne on a reciprocal basis. Spain bears the costs of the extradition requests which it receives from the United Kingdom.