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July 12, 2006 By PAUL THOMPSON; CHRIS MILLAR 6ft by 13ft jail cell that the NatWestThree will call home THIS IS one of the high-security cells set to become home to the NatWest Three when they are extradited to the US tomorrow. The cramped two-man cells are a world away from the multimillion-pound homes where the men lived at the height of their careers as investment bankers. But it is here, to the Houston Federal Detention Centre, that they will be brought handcuffed and dressed in orange jumpsuits. MPs will hold an emergency debate today to heap pressure on the Government to delay the extradition of David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby, who will stand trial over their alleged role in the collapse of Enron. In a highly unusual move, Commons Speaker Michael Martin cleared the parliamentary timetable to allow the debate which will force a Home Office Minister to come to the Chamber to defend the extradition policy. Last night, the Lords voted 218 to 116 to suspend the Extradition Act 2003 until the American senate has signed its side of the deal on sending citizens in the US for trial here. But the Lords vote comes too late as it would have to be approved by MPs, who will not consider it until the Police and Justice Bill comes before the Commons in October. The detention centre has never released photographs of its interiors, but the cells share the same dimension and design as the one shown above. Measuring 6ft by 13ft, with only an inch wide arrow-slit window for natural light, they are anything but comfortable. The Britons will be imprisoned in Houston for a year or more while they await trial. If they are lucky their cellmates will, like them, be accused of white collar crimes. But it is just as likely they will be forced to share with the drug traffickers, gang members and kidnappers that make up the majority of the prison population of 968. It was here that rapper Lil' Kim was imprisoned when she was jailed for 10 months after lying to a federal grand jury about a gang shootout. Leading Houston lawyer Douglas McNabb said: "The regime is strict. They are going to be frightened. If the authorities say jump, you jump. If they say sit, you sit. But if they say jump, and you sit, you're in trouble." Houston's inmates typically spend 23 hours a day in their cells, which have no furniture apart from a sheetless bed and a seatless lavatory. An official website warns that inmates arriving for the first time may not bring any clothing, books, radios or personal hygiene items. The only personal effects permitted are a "wedding band (plain, no stones) and a religious medal worth no more than $100". One source at the Houston Chronicle said: "It's much, much easier to get in to see someone on death row than it is to get access to anybody in the Federal Detention Centre." If the three are convicted, they face 23 years in a federal jail, with no prospect of parole. Lib-Dem home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg secured the three-hour debate today. The men's supporters hope it will pile pressure on the Government to suspend extraditions. The bankers are accused of an Pounds 11 million fraud in which their former employer NatWest was advised to sell part of an Enron company for less than it was worth. The extradition treaty was sealed by then home secretary David Blunkett in the wake of the September 11 attacks in 2001 and was originally presented as a tool to fight terrorism. Mr Clegg said: "People simply do not understand why three British citizens will be extradited when our own judicial authorities saw no reason to prosecute them here in Britain." | |