UKIP MEPs to fight Garry Mann’s case

As a brief aside from Party politics, I am delighted to see that two of UKIP’s Members of the European Parliament have decided to fight Garry Mann’s case and campaign against the European Arrest Warrant.

William Dartmouth (South West) and Mike Nattrass (West Midlands) have vowed to do “everything in their power” to ensure Garry Mann is brought home as soon as possible and “see justice is served”.

Mr Dartmouth said:

The European Arrest Warrant was supposed to be an important weapon in the war against terrorism. Instead it is being used to drag people from home and family to face trial and punishment in foreign lands for minor offences.

What is shocking is that our judges are forced to admit there is nothing they can do faced with this Arrest Warrant. I call on this new Government to put an immediate stop on the use of this warrant until it can be looked at again.

It may still be an important part of the work in tracking down terrorists or serious criminals but not for lesser crimes which should be handled in our own courts.

Mr Nattrass said:

I am appalled by this whole situation and I agree with William Dartmouth and Fair Trials International that the trial was a travesty of justice. We will do everything in our power to get Mr Mann back home where he belongs.

We no longer have control over who is taken from our country by the European Union as our MEPs have handed away that control. Gone are the days when a British subject could rely on a British Court to refuse extradition to a foreign country in unjust or unproven circumstances.

Mr Mann is a father of six and my thoughts are with his family. As a result of the European Arrest Warrant Mr Mann has been dragged away from his family without a fair trial.

Now, I have already covered the substantive aspects of Mr Mann’s case both on Legal Leanings and through an open letter to Her Majesty’s Government, so beyond the above quotes, I do not feel that anything needs repeating.

However, I will say that these MEPs hold a far greater sway than a lowly blogger such as myself, and it is fantastic to see that, not only are they going to be getting as involved as they can, but also that there are others in this country who have not yet given up hope for the rights of a British citizen.

This episode is not over yet…