Attorney General Dominic Grieve hints about forum bar re: Gary McKinnon extradition case

The Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition government are still dithering and have still not yet made good their pre-election promises about sorting out the appalling mess which the previous Labour government created with our Extradition laws and policies.

A vague hint from the Attorney General Dominic Grieve that the Government may not obey the recommendation of the controversial Scott Baker report in the case of Gary McKinnon and perhaps other extradition cases:

Extradition
Oral Answers to Questions -- Attorney-General
11:30 am 15th November 2011

HC Deb, 15 November 2011, c691

Graeme Morrice (Livingston, Labour)

What consideration has the Attorney-General given to implementing a forum bar to give judges more discretion in deciding whether it is in the interests of justice for cases to be tried in the UK, such as the case involving Gary McKinnon, or where the offence was committed in the UK and it is difficult for the defence to bring witnesses and evidence to a foreign jurisdiction?

Dominic Grieve (Attorney General; Beaconsfield, Conservative)

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, which is touched on in Lord Justice Scott Baker's report, and will have to be taken into account in the Government response. He will be aware that Lord Justice Scott Baker's proposals are guidelines, rather than an implementation of the forum bar. That is something that the Government will have to consider.

N.B. in the same Oral Questions session, Dominic Grieve stated that he had not yet discussed the Baker report with the Home Secretary / Home Office.