Hansard

Freedom of Speech

Volume 704: debated on Tuesday 21 October 2008

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Lord Laird

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How their obligations regarding freedom of speech under the Human Rights Act 1998 relate to those arrested for “holocaust denial”. [HL5476]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office
(Lord West of Spithead)

Under the scheme of the Extradition Act 2003, there is no ministerial involvement in the operation of the European arrest warrant (EAW) regime.

When a person accused of holocaust denial is arrested pursuant to an EAW, Section 21 of the Act provides that the judge must discharge the requested person from proceedings if he feels that to order extradition would be incompatible with the person's convention rights within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998.