DRAFT PRESS RELEASE
December
1986
HOME SECRETARY WELCOMES NEW USA/UK EXTRADITION TREATY
A supplementary extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and the USA came into effect today, as both countries exchanged instruments of ratification.
The new provision means that people accused or convicted of serious crimes of violence will no longer be able to avoid extradition from either country by claiming that their offences were politically movitated.
Welcoming the new addition to the UK/USA extradition treaty, the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Douglas Hurd CBE MP, said: "This marks the close cooperation that exists between our two Governments in the fight against terrorism. I believe that the new arrangement will make clear to terrorists and their apologists that neither of our countries is prepared to provide a haven for those who abuse democracy by resorting to violence.
"No one who is accused or convicted of violent crime should be able to avoid justice by hiding behind the cloak of political motivation,"
Note for Editors
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The supplementary treaty was signed in Washington on June 25, 1985. It amends the provisions of the existing treaty between the UK and USA.
The provisions of the supplementary treaty are retrospective, so that from today fugitives in either country can no longer claim political motivation as a defence for violent crime.