Huhne claims Tory MEPs endanger UK citizens

The Conservative's attitude to the European Arrest Warrant, and to the interchangeability of criminal records within the EU, would threaten the safety of UK citizens, according to Chris Huhne.

Chris writes: "Conservative MEPs voted against the establishment of the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS), which standardises the format of criminal records in Europe and allows them to be exchanged quickly between police forces and high risk employers, such as airports.

"It beggars belief that anyone would want to make it more difficult for us to check whether people coming to this country are dangerous criminals."

In South-West Wales we have already seen the effect of the lack of background information on a worker from Poland, who committed a serious sexual offence here.

And, as Nick Clegg argues, in an article by Nik Cohn, "so instinctive is Tory antipathy that Cameron would rather be soft on crime than friends with European allies.

"The Europol police agency has helped break up paedophile rings in the UK, Clegg says. The European arrest warrant allowed the fast-track deportation to Britain of Hussain Osman who had fled to Rome after trying to blow up a tube station. Ordinarily, Tories are against paedophilia and terrorism, but the 'Euro' prefix is enough to make them damn both the agency and arrest warrant."

See more here and here.