§ 48. Mr. Palmerasked the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the case of David Somes, a former South African policeman, arrested in the United Kingdom on 27 November 1982 and charged with an act of murder in South Africa, but now released.
§ The Attorney-GeneralIn the absence of an extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and South Africa there were no legal means of returning Mr. Somes to that country; but as a British citizen (as well as a South African) he was liable to prosecution in this country on a charge of murder. However, the prosecution could not proceed without the evidence of witnesses who are in South Africa and the South African Government failed to give the necessary assurance that those witnesses would be made available. In the circumstances the Director of Public Prosecutions had no alternative but to apply to withdraw the charge.
I do not propose to make a statement about the matter.