Tories criticise 'hot pursuit' bill

Foreign police would have no powers of arrest in the UK

The Conservatives have criticised plans to allow foreign detectives to track suspects in the UK for up to five hours.

The change in "hot pursuit" procedures is one of host of initiatives in the Crime (International Co-operation) Bill, which was published on Wednesday and is designed to improve the fight against organised crime by removing red tape and unnecessary obstacles.

A spokesman for Shadow Home Secretary Oliver Letwin said: "This is very worrying. It's exactly what the government said it would not do."

This is very worrying. It's exactly what the government said it would not do.

Spokesman for Oliver Letwin

He told BBC News Online: "Along with the European arrest warrant, this will make it possible to arrest people in this country for actions which are not a crime in Britain and then face the need to prove their innocence in a foreign land.

"We will fight this all the way."

A Home Office spokesman pointed out the "hot pursuit" arrangements worked reciprocally and would allow British police to follow a suspect into France or Belgium.

'No right of arrest'

He added that foreign detectives would have no right to make arrests in the UK and would not be able to bring their weapons into this country.

"At present if someone gets on a plane and a ferry you have to fax a request for the local police to take over surveillance, which often does not come through in time," he said.

But John Wadham, director of Liberty, also criticised this aspect of the Bill.

'Arbitrary foreign police action'

He said: "We have enough problems regulating our own authorities' use of surveillance in the UK. Giving these powers to foreign police, even for a short time, opens the door to arbitrary foreign police action against British citizens on our home soil."

The Bill is designed to target drug smugglers, money launderers, human traffickers and international fraudsters.

Unveiling the bill, Home Office Minister Lord Filkin said: "Tackling the increasingly complex and international nature of organised crime requires better international co-operation and effective agreements to pursue and prosecute criminals across borders and to make the international environment less conducive to crime."

A National Crime Squad spokesman welcomed the bill and said: "Anything which will speed up co-operation in crime fighting across Europe is to be applauded.

The growth of international trade means that crime is no longer confined within national borders.

Lord Filkin

"There are too many delays in the judicial process caused by bureaucracy and incompatibility."

Lord Filkin said: "The growth of international trade means that crime is no longer confined within national borders.

"The impact of crimes committed by gangs on a trans-national scale is often felt at a local level.

"People living in the UK are often victims of international crime committed abroad."

'Safeguards'

But Lord Filkin said the bill included safeguards which would protect the innocent individual from being targeted by law enforcement agencies either in this country or abroad.

There are too many delays in the judicial process caused by bureaucracy and incompatibility.

National Crime Squad spokesman

The bill will give UK police forces access to the Schengen Information System (SIS) - a huge computer database of criminals and suspected criminals in the European Union.

But Lord Filkin said the Information Commissioner would have the power to supervise use of data in the SIS and report directly to Parliament.

"This safeguard will ensure the rights of the individual are properly protected," he said.

Disqualified drivers

Under the bill EU member states will have to mutually recognise driving disqualifications.

At present a driver banned for drink driving in the UK is able to move to Spain and obtain a new driving licence within days. This will no longer be the case when the bill comes into force.

Lord Filkin said: "This is a significant advance in European road safety.

"If a person is disqualified for breaking the law while driving in another country, that disqualification should follow them home."

The bill will also:

Allow for witnesses living abroad to give evidence by video link in the UK, and vice versa

Enable foreign police forces in "hot pursuit" to maintain surveillance on a suspect once they enter the UK for up to five hours

Improve compatibility between UK and other EU legal systems

Speed up the freezing of evidence in other EU countries. For example British police could get a court order to search for weapons at an address in the Netherlands within 24 hours of a crime being committed

The bill would introduce reciprocal obligations between EU countries to supply information about suspicious banking transactions

Make terrorist offences committed outside the UK by UK citizens offences under UK law

Enable anyone who attacks UK diplomatic staff abroad to be tried in a British court. This was a response to the murder of attache Brigadier Stephen Saunders in Athens in 2000.