Mr Bermingham also emphasised that the human cost of moving somebody to another country for proceedings placed a huge burden on the individual, family and friends, and that it should be seen "as a last resort rather than the first".
As previously reported on SecurityOracle.com, the Select Committee has been taking evidence in the last stages of its inquiry into extradition issues.
Mr Bermingham and his two colleagues were among the first UK citizens to answer charges in the US under the Extradition Act 2003. Known as the NatWest Three, they were handed down 37 months in prison after making a plea bargain and went on to serve much of their sentence in the UK.
There have been concerns raised over the Act, among them differences in decision making processes on either side of the Atlantic. In the USA, "a probable cause" must first be identified before extradition can be made, but there is no equivalent in the UK.
However, a review of the arrangements, carried out by former Court of Appeal Judge Sir Scott Baker last year, found that they operated in a balanced manner.
In giving his evidence, Mr Bermingham branded the Scott Baker review as a "fantastic piece of dry legal analysis" but asserted that it "was lacking in humanity".
Challenged by MPs, he asserted that the emphasis should be changed for judges in extradition hearings to start from a presumption that the case should be heard in the UK – with the burden of proof on the applying country to prove otherwise.
While stressing that he was not "anti-American or anti-extradition", Mr Bermingham said the nature of the US criminal justice system also made it difficult for those extradited to plan their defence, as most defendants were immediately remanded in custody.
Highlighting his own case, he pointed out that all the evidence and witnesses had been in the UK and not initially accessible because proceedings were not active there.
And he said engaging with the plea bargaining processes, which significantly reduced his own tariff and included a deal enabling him to return to the UK, was encouraging many to admit guilt when they should not have done.
Mr Bermingham added: "There was no doubt about it – if we had been in the UK we would have gone to trial and there would have been no issue with a plea bargain.
"I am content with what we did as we took a business decision – the costs of going to trial in the USA can run into millions of dollars and it is non-refundable if you win."
|
