Lord Advocate warns that UK risks becoming criminal safe haven

Brexit could slow the extradition process down, the Lord Advocate has warned.

James Wolffe QC has said that in the absence of effective extradition agreements, the UK risked becoming a safe haven for criminals.

Mr Wolffe expressed concerns ahead of a visit to Brussels where he will argue for the mechanisms of criminal justice co-operation to be preserved.

He said that “the “days when national prosecutors could essentially confine their attention to their own jurisdictions” were over and that “criminality today does not respect borders”.

Mr Wolffe said: “We confront serious organised crime groups who traffic drugs and other illicit goods and, for that matter, human beings across boundaries.

“Online, criminals located in one country may defraud individuals and businesses elsewhere. Digital images resulting from the sexual exploitation of children may be shared in cyberspace regardless of national boundaries. And events elsewhere can affect the nature and level of the threat, in our own territories, of terrorist violence.

“If law enforcement agencies are to address transnational criminality effectively, they must co-operate with colleagues in other jurisdictions.”

The Lord Advocate also pointed out that the UK has gained from adopting the European arrest warrant, saying: “Last year alone, we made over 400 requests to fellow prosecutors through the European judicial network for assistance in relation to extradition and the recovery of evidence.

“In the last five years, there have been 541 cases in Scottish courts in which proceedings were taken after an arrest on a European arrest warrant, and 367 individuals have been extradited from Scotland through this procedure.

“We have, in turn, issued 45 European Arrest Warrants in order that individuals are surrendered quickly to Scotland to face trial for serious crimes.

“Without effective extradition arrangements, the UK would be at risk of becoming a safe haven for criminals who have committed crimes in other countries.”