THERE has been a lot of publicity about the extradition of three bankers to the US, but one very important point has been overlooked.

The same Act of Parliament which granted the US the right to demand the surrender of a British citizen, without having to present a shred of evidence against him, also brought in the European Arrest Warrant on very similar terms.

So an official in another EU member state can now insist on the extradition of a Briton, without the need to show that there is a case for him to answer, and without any chance for him to argue in a British court that there are no grounds for his extradition.

Defendants in foreign countries often have an extremely difficult time, and in some cases it proves to be a life-wrecking ordeal. It is utterly wrong for our Government to agree that any of us can be deported and put in that position for no good reason, whether the foreign country in question is the US, another EU member state, or any other country.

Muriel Parsons, Campaign for an Independent Britain, Stamford House, Calcot Park, Reading, Berkshire.