Archive for March 2012

US-UK extradition treaty – will Home Affairs Committee report silence public disquiet?

Earlier today the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee published a report on the US-UK extradition treaty. A further report on the operation of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is expected later this year.

Both reports emerge from curious circumstances, coming so soon after the publication of the independent Sir Scott Baker review in September 2011. That review was the most exhaustive analysis of this country’s extradition laws ever undertaken, devoting no less than 51 pages to the US-UK extradition treaty (the report of the Home Affairs Committee stretches to only 10 pages). Many of those who made representations to Sir Scott’s panel gave similar evidence to the MPs comprising the Home Affairs Committee. So why another report?

Clamping down on scrap metal thieves

Following a dramatic rise in prices and a spate of incidents which have seen rail networks disrupted, church roofs pillaged and towns plunged into darkness, the scrap metal theft “epidemic” has been thrust into the spotlight. The issue has even made it into an episode of Eastenders – a sure sign of topicality! But why scrap metal? Simply put, scrap metal is hard to identify and can be sold for cash (at ever-increasing prices), making it an attractive category of stolen merchandise. It may seem like a niche offence but metal theft is estimated to cost the country £1 billion annually, with more than 1,000 offences taking place every week.

More tough action from the FSA – time to stop playing games

Nicholas Kyprios, European head of credit sales at Credit Suisse, has been fined £210,000 by the Financial Services Authority for misuse of information being treated as insider information.

Credit Suisse was acting on behalf of Liberty, an American telecoms company targeting the acquisition of Unitymedia, a German television company. In preparation for the deal, Mr Kyprios was wall-crossed with regard to a proposed £2.5 billion bond issue by Unitymedia. He was instructed that this was inside information, which he should not share with anyone outside of Credit Suisse except for five pre-approved investors who he was also permitted to wall-cross.

Confiscation – behind the headlines

On Tuesday last week the CPS released details of 143 criminals who have failed to pay monies owed under Confiscation Orders, orders aimed at depriving a convicted person of the spoils of their crime. The headline on the front page of the Evening Standard read: “Exposed: Crooks who owe Britain £600 million” and the article went on to detail the names of the top 10 “Mr Bigs” together with photos of their glamorous homes and luxury cars.

Blagging and the DPA – is it time to make offences imprisonable?

Despite it being almost 10 years since the start of Operation Motorman, and the subsequent furore which lead to the closure of the News of the World, it is still not possible for a person found guilty of illegally obtaining and disclosing personal information to be imprisoned for that offence. However, strong words from the Information Commissioner’s Office this week suggest that this may be ripe for change.