Fury grows as MPs demand UK extradite US ‘paedo’ diplomat & return him to British soil after Yanks ‘grotesque’ dawn raid

BRITISH cops and ministers must demand the return of a suspected paedophile secretly flown to the US after “high-handed” Americans dodged international law to remove him, say experts. They spoke out after we told how a US snatch squad raided the diplomat’s London home without telling the Met Police and bundled him onto a cargo flight to Dover Air Force base, Delaware. Politicians, lawyers and ex-cops voiced their anger at the move Credit: Alamy How events unfolded Politicians, lawyers and ex-cops have voiced their anger at the move – revealed in the Sun on Sunday – as they demanded officials stand up to the Yanks. Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty called the cloak and dagger US move “absolutely grotesque”. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! He added: “The US government is now protecting alleged paedophiles. “US Marines conducting a raid on British soil, on which they have no jurisdiction, to seize one of their own diplomats and use US military resources to ferry the suspect out of the country is completely unacceptable.” Marine Security Guards, who patrol the US Embassy in London, are believed to have led the raid Credit: Jetphotos Lawyer Mark Stephens called the move ’embarrassing’ Credit: Alamy And lawyer Mark Stephens – an expert in international litigation who has represented Julian Assange – said: “The Americans have shown a heavy-handed disregard for our law and effectively extraordinarily rendered one of their own citizens. “It is embarrassing and it seems astonishing that they have done this without alerting the Metropolitan Police. “They have ignored international law. “Most right-thinking people would be sick to their stomach as there are issues of public confidence and reassurance at play here. Most read in The Sun “If a crime is committed here the crime should be tried here, and there are potentially victims of abuse in this country. “But there is nothing to stop the Metropolitan Police from presenting evidence and charging this individual, and demanding his extradition. “In this case I believe that is the path they must follow.” And Rebecca Niblock, a specialist extradition lawyer at Kingsley Napley, said: “As a matter of international law, one state cannot ordinarily exercise its law enforcement powers in the territory of another state without its consent. “To do so may infringe that state’s sovereignty and raises both legal and diplomatic issues.” US officials searched the diplomat’s home in Putney, London on August 25 after discovering his brother in Illinois was allegedly sending him child abuse images. They are said to have discovered further abuse material after raiding the address and then whisked the man – who worked at the US embassy in Nine Elms, south London – to RAF Fairford, Gloucs where there is a large American presence. A Boeing then flew to Delaware and then on to O’Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois, 4,000 miles from London. Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has hosted crisis meetings about the case while No10 and the Foreign Office are being kept updated. Ministers are set to hold crunch talks this week as they prepare a response to America, while Andy Burnham is due to meet Donald Trump in New York in just over a week. The case has echoes of the case of Harry Dunn, 19, who was killed in a 2019 crash on the wrong side of the road by US citizen Anne Sacoolas who fled and never returned to the UK. Ex Met Police Detective Mick Neville said: “The Americans should not have done this, and it’s a very embarrassing situation. “We should make an official request for his extradition but they are likely to just say no. “Sadly we are very limited in what we can do and once he was on that plane it was likely game over. “If we couldn’t get Anne Sacoolas back after the death of Harry Dunn we probably won’t get this bloke back.” A Met Police spokesperson said: “On Tuesday, 25 August, US authorities made us aware of an investigation they are conducting into suspected offences in London relating to indecent images of children. “We continue to liaise with them regarding this matter.” The US Embassy has confirmed the probe and said it will “continue to work closely with law enforcement partners regarding these allegations.” Comment now