Sarah's bulletin: 4 June 2010

Published on Mon 7th Jun 2010

Dear friends,

European Commission ratchets up legal pressure regarding London's dirty air

Yesterday the European Commission lost patience with the UK's inaction on its EU air quality obligations, and issued a final written warning to the government about pollution from diesel vehicles, power plants and factories in the form of dirty particles called 'PM10' that are very damaging to health and responsible for up to 8,000 premature deaths a year.

London's outrageously high levels of this pollution continue to breach EU standards, something which 13 years of Labour government and London's Tory and Labour Mayors are responsible for. But there is light at the end of the tunnel: in the coalition agreement, our new Liberal Democrat and Conservative government pledged to "work towards full compliance with EU quality standards" - something which I, as one of the many Londoners fed up with having to breathe filthy air, avidly look forward to! Read my press release here.

The Cumbria shootings and Britain's anti-gun laws

The Cumbria shootings where local Derrick Bird went on an inexplicable killing spree and shot 12 people dead represent an appalling tragedy and my thoughts are with the friends and families of the innocent victims.

But it highlights the issue of gun control legislation, and at least its enforcement which seems to be poor. As the Guardian has commented: "the gaps in enforcement begin to explain how it is possible to have some of the toughest gun laws in the world - and yet have 1.7m shotguns, rifles and pistols in legal private possession". Do all these people really need them for shooting rabbits or grouse or even for "recreational target practice"?

An individual can apparently legally own a lethal weapon for 10 years without a home visit from the police or any other direct contact with licensing authorities, let alone mental health checks. And as Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh asked Home Secretary Teresa May: "Can I ask you to explain how a simple taxi driver could possibly justify the apparently lawful possession of such a formidable and devastating arsenal for such a time?"

I also look forward to the answer to John's second question to her: "what, if anything, can be done to prevent a circumstance like this happening again?". The police can apparently only refuse a shotgun application if they can prove the applicant will be a danger to the public. Surely the burden of proof for shotguns should be aligned to that of other firearms, for which the onus is on the applicant to prove to the police that there is a good reason why they should own the weapon? I hope the coalition government looks at this whole subject anew.

The Labour government hardly put its skates on in implementing post-Dunblane recommendations: the National Firearms Register took 10 years to implement and the firearms licensing system only came into being in 2007. Compare this to the zeal with which they poured billions of pounds into the ID cards database; their priorities were askew on this as on so much else.

Massacre of Ahmadis in Pakistan

I deplore the appalling massacre of 100 Ahmadi Muslims in Lahore by 'Punjabi Taliban' suicide bombers last week. Ahmadis, of whom there is a large community in the UK and particularly London, have long suffered from state-sponsored discrimination and persecution and community violence in Pakistan, because they are a minority sect considered non-Muslim heretics. But this takes the hostility to a new and horrible level and I extend my sincere condolences to my Ahmadi constituents, whose annual gatherings in Surrey I have several times attended.

Interpretation and translation rights for suspects across the EU

I'm excited that the text I have negotiated for an EU directive on rights to interpretation and translation for those who need it in criminal proceedings, for which I am the draftsman (rapporteur) for the European Parliament, has just been approved by EU ministers. It is set to be voted in my Civil Liberties committee next week - and thereafter by the whole Parliament in plenary - and then becomes law. I'm proud that this is the first piece of legislation decided by the process of Council-Parliament 'co-decision' in the criminal law field brought in by the Lisbon treaty; formerly MEPs were only consulted (and ignored), now we have real power.

The Parliament has been calling for defence safeguards to ensure fair trials for many years, to go alongside the European Arrest Warrant. This particular law will mean that if a suspect or defendant is questioned or put on trial but does not understand the local language, he/she will have the right to translation and interpretation of all essential documents, lawyer meetings, police questioning and court hearings. Had these measures been in place for Garry Mann's case, or Andrew Symeou's ongoing prison ordeal, their cases would have been transformed. You can access an radio interview I did on this here.

France finally drops European arrest warrant against Deborah Dark

Also on the topic of fairness in EU justice matters, It is great news that Deborah Dark, a constituent of mine whose case I championed over the last few years, can finally leave the UK without having to be afraid of being arrested. This is because France has finally dropped its European Arrest Warrant against her.

Deborah was taken to court in France over 20 years ago on suspicion of a drug-related offence, but was then cleared and returned to the UK. After she left however, the court then accepted an appeal from the prosecution and in absentia sentenced her to 6 years, without ever informing her lawyer or Deborah herself. A full 15 years later France issued a European Arrest Warrant for Deborah to be extradited to France to serve her sentence. Much to her surprise, Deborah was then arrested first at Alicante airport and then at Gatwick, but in both cases managed to convince the judge that her extradition to France would rightly have been unjust after all this time.

I took up her case with the French authorities and the European Commission. France has now finally dropped the European Arrest Warrant, and she is free to go and visit her elderly father in Spain. It is a scandal that it took so long for this to happen: better late than never, but I am very unhappy about poor management and bad data on EAW 'alerts' in EU databases.

This has cropped up again for Christopher Ridd, another constituent of mine who had a 3-day ordeal in a Lisbon police station due to a German-issued EAW in his name but which was really aimed at the person who stole his passport and went on a criminal spree. I have tabled a question to the Commission on the incompetent errors behind this, see here.

End to car repair rip-offs thanks to EU action

London motorists will see the price of getting their cars repaired fall dramatically - potentially by as much as 50% - after the European Commission ruled last week that car manufacturers are no longer allowed to make car warranties conditional on repairing the car at an 'authorised' or 'franchised' dealership.

These new rules, that came into force on Tuesday, will make it easier for car owners to use independent garages since the latter can access the technical information they need to carry out repairs and obtain spare parts from alternative, cheaper sources. As many car owners know, servicing a car can often make up almost half the cost of running a car, so an end to the power of car manufacturers to lock consumers into anti-competitive warranty and servicing arrangements is more than welcome.

EU money for energy efficiency in London's social housing

In a previous bulletin I mentioned a new pot of money - from the European Regional Development Fund - that has recently been made available for London. Thanks to enquiries made by my GLA colleague Mike Tuffrey, Mayor Boris Johnson has confirmed that the ERDF can be used to support the renovation of London's social housing with the aim of making it more energy-efficient. The London Green Fund will be managing the money, and will be able to make loans or equity investments. See here for more information on how to apply for these EU funds.

Haverstock by-election victory

We had a fantastic victory in a by-election in Haverstock in Camden last week. We got all three of our candidates in as Liberal Democrat councillors: Jill Fraser, Matt Sanders and Rahel Bokth, making us the official opposition in Camden. The result is real credit to all the fantastic work Camden Lib Dems have been putting in, and to the many volunteers (including me!) who made the journey over to Camden to help out.

There are expected to be a lot of Council byelections over the next 4 years, not least as Labour 'paper candidates' who unexpectedly got elected drop out! I have tried over the last 11 years to get to most local byelections anyway, but I will be redoubling my efforts. There is one in Tulse ward in Lambeth on 1st July; I will probably go Saturday week, and if you'd like to help please get in touch with their organiser at bramh@streathamlibdems.org.uk. Then in Barking there is one in Goresbrook Ward on 8th July, and it will be very important to maintain the great May 6th result - to which LibDems strongly contributed - of keeping out the BNP.

Best regards,

Sarah Ludford