Gordon Brown to Tzipi Livni: You’re welcome in Britain

LONDON (WJC)–Following the row  between Israel and Britain over attempts to arrest former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, the British attorney-general will in future be asked to approve any warrants before suspected war criminals can be arrested, ‘The Guardian’ newspaper reports.

Discussions had begun on creating “safeguards” in criminal cases against visiting foreign leaders. Lawyers involved said they were outraged by the proposed change, the paper writes.

“Livni supports a two-state solution. This attempt to secure her arrest has really set alarm bells ringing. No one is talking about removing universal jurisdiction, but it’s an anomaly that a magistrates court can issue an arrest warrant before a prosecutor has even said there is a case to prosecute. There need to be safeguards,” an unnamed source from the British Foreign Office told the newspaper.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Gordon Brown had telephoned  Livni and told her he strongly opposed the arrest warrant. According to a statement issued by the Kadima leader, Brown said that Livni was “most welcome” in Britain at any time and that he planned to work to change the current legal situation. Israeli President Shimon Peres called the arrest warrant by a London magistrate court one of the “biggest political mistakes the UK has ever made” and it was “high time” the British government changed a law allowing courts to grant such warrants.
 
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress