§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received extradition requests from the Italian Government in respect of Roberto Fiore and Massimo Morsello. [2550]
§ Mr. KirkhopeIt is not Government policy to confirm or deny the existence of extradition requests from foreign Governments, unless they are already made public, for example, following court proceedings. Italian requests for the extradition of Roberto Fiore and Massimo Morsello 771W failed in 1982 when the courts found an insufficiency of evidence under the prima facie case standard which then applied. Since 1991 a lesser standard under section 7 of the Extradition Act 1989 is required in respect of such requests.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the prosecution of Bengt Bolin under Sweden's extra-territorial jurisdiction for child sex offences; and what plans he has to introduce equivalent extra-territorial laws in the United Kingdom. [2578]
§ Mr. MacleanWe have not yet received all the information we need from the Swedish authorities to make a full assessment of whether the evidence used in the Bolin case would have satisfied the normal requirements of a United Kingdom court.
However, if a British national had committed a similar offence abroad we, unlike the Swedes who do not extradite their nationals, would have been able to return him to stand trial in the place where he was alleged to have offended. We believe that extradition in these cases is a more appropriate response, and we have no current plans to extend our jurisdiction to enable us to deal in this country with offences committed abroad. We do, however, keep this matter under review.