Shadow Home Secretary's letter on Habeas Corpus

Rt Hon John Reid MP Home Secretary Home Office 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF 19 September 2006 Informal Justice and Home Affairs Council, Tampere, 20-22 September 2006 I understand that the Finnish Presidency intend to launch a discussion next week on how to ‘make it possible for decisions on… police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters… to be made by qualified majority and together with the European Parliament’ (Finnish Presidency press release, 7 September 2006). This is clearly an attempt to transfer criminal law, policing and judicial co-operation from the third pillar of the EU Treaties to the first pillar, and to effectively implement Section 4 of Title III of the European Constitution. As you will recall, the Prime Minister has pledged that the UK will retain control over our own criminal law, courts and policing. He said: ‘we restate our agreement to justice and home affairs remaining outside Community competence’ (Hansard, 16 December 1996, Col. 617) The Government also pledged that: ‘we will insist that unanimity remain for… key areas of criminal procedural law’ (FCO, White Paper on the European Intergovernmental Conference, para. 66, 9 September 2003). However, in May, junior Home Office Minister, Joan Ryan, failed to give a categorical assurance that the veto would be retained. On proposals to move to qualified majority voting, she said: ‘we would have to consider very carefully the potential risks and benefits and the overall impact of such a move’ (Hansard, 6 June 2006, Col. 614-5WA). I am astonished that you are even considering such a move. To surrender the veto would directly contradict the pledge given by the former Foreign Secretary, that ‘there is no plan, proposal or intention to slip elements of the constitution through by the back door’ (Hansard, 6 June 2005, Col. 1004), and prove yet another promise from this Government to be completely worthless. Retaining the national veto over policing, our courts and our criminal laws is vital to the UK national interest and to the rights of British citizens. If you surrender the veto, and introduce part of the European Constitution by the back door, you will put those rights in jeopardy. I urge you to state publicly and categorically that the UK veto will not be surrendered. In view of the widespread interest in this matter, I am making this letter publicly available. David Davis Shadow Home Secretary