§ Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek early agreement among the nations of the European Economic Community on a definition of circumsances in which a convicted terrorist is returned to his country of origin.
§ Mr. MellorArrangements among European Community countries already provide for the extradition of convicted terrorists. The Council of Europe convention on the suppression of terrorism also provides that fugitives accused or convicted of certain serious offences may not avoid extradition by claiming that their offences were political. We shall continue to press for the broadest application of that convention by our European partners. In addition, the United Kingdom has ratified the Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced prisoners, which enables foreign prisoners to serve their sentences in their own country. This convention is open to all European Community countries, and a draft agreement among member states is at an advanced stage of preparation. We have previously explained that public policy considerations may cause us to refuse the transfer of a terrorist or any other prisoner who had been convicted of particularly horrific crimes.