From Newsweek · · 1m 30s
A dawn raid, then a flight out of Britain
A US embassy worker was pulled out of the UK during a child abuse images investigation, and nobody will say if that was legal.
In brief
A US embassy worker was pulled out of the UK during a child abuse images investigation, and nobody will say if that was legal. When a foreign government removes a suspect from British soil without going through extradition, the legal basis for the whole operation comes into question. Originally reported by Newsweek.
Removed before questions started
A US embassy employee was taken out of Britain during an investigation into alleged child abuse images, according to The Sun. Newsweek has not independently verified several of the paper's key claims.
A raid at a London address
US authorities reportedly raided the London property where the employee lives, tied to a case being run in the US. The man's brother allegedly sent him the abusive material.
Custody without arrest powers
The Sun reports that US agents found child abuse images, took the man into custody despite having no power of arrest in the UK, and flew him out from a US air base.
The Met confirms the tip-off
London's Metropolitan Police says US authorities notified them on 25 August about suspected offences in London involving indecent images of children.
“We continue to liaise with them regarding this matter.”
Both governments say little
The embassy said it expects the highest standards of conduct from personnel. The UK government declined to comment on the allegations while the US investigation runs.
“We expect all foreign diplomats in the UK to abide by our laws”
Skipping extradition is the problem
Nobody has confirmed the man's role, whether he had diplomatic protection, or if UK police opened their own case. Lawyers say the route around extradition is the real issue.
“If extradition was deliberately bypassed, that would raise very serious questions about the legality of the operation.”
Here's the gist
When a foreign government removes a suspect from British soil without going through extradition, the legal basis for the whole operation comes into question.
