The Law Society has issued a warning that a no-deal Brexit could prevent Britain from returning criminals to European states. Should there be no deal between Britain and the EU, the current European Arrest Warrant (EAW) may be voided, meaning the UK would have to fall back to the 1957 European Extradition Convention.

Law Society president, Christina Blacklaws, said The British people may not be forgiving if the UK becomes a safe haven for criminals from across the EU27, Even where the 1957 European Extradition Convention is still in place, the process is lengthy, costly and taxpayers will end up footing the bill. Switzerland still uses it so the evidence of the system’s defects is there for all to see.

Under the convention, extradition arrangements with the EU would again become a political decision, with the involvement of the Home Office. It would also create problems with Ireland as that’s one of the countries which has repealed legislation - they would have to amend their domestic law as would a string of other EU27 countries, which might not be a political priority for them in the wake of an ill-tempered exit.

Exiting the EAW arrangements would also present problems when seeking those suspected of committing crime in the UK - Ms Blacklaws explained: Losing the EAW when we leave the EU would also make it more difficult to apprehend people who have committed a crime in the UK and have fled abroad.

As an example of the difficulties that leaving the EAW could cause, Ms Blacklaws referred to the recent Salisbury poisonings and the EAW issued for the arrest of the two key suspects, explaining that if found in any country of the EU, they could be arrested and sent to Britain. But this would not be possible under the 1957 Extradition Convention and in any case the time it takes to extradite under the convention is 20 times longer than under the EAW.