BRITISH sex tourists who abuse children abroad will face prosecution in the UK under proposed new legislation announced in the Commons by Home Secretary Michael Howard yesterday.
The announcement - which follows a six-month review of the law's treatment of offences committed abroad - was welcomed by children's rights campaigners and police.
Mr Howard also announced plans to extend British courts' powers to try foreign extremists and terrorists resident in the UK who plan or incite crimes abroad. The proposed legislation will be brought forward at the earliest possible opportunity, Mr Howard said.
It comes amid mounting outcry over British paedophiles who travel to countries such as Thailand, the Philippines and Sri Lanka specifically to seek sex with child prostitutes.
Other countries, such as New Zealand, Sweden and Germany, already have anti-sex tourist laws, and in June last year Swede Bengt Brolin was jailed for three months in his own country for sex offences against a 13-year-old boy in Thailand. Ms Anne Badger, UK co-ordinator of the Coalition on Child Prostitution and Tourism, welcomed Mr Howard's announcement as ``an important step in punishing and deterring Britons who commit these kind of offences abroad''.
The chief constable of West Mercia Police, David Blakey, who is secretary of the Association of Chief Police Officers Crime Committee, said: ``Criminals who commit sexual offences in other countries, often on an organised basis, are an affront to a civilised country. ``The difficulties in bringing them to justice are many, but this will make prosecution more possible and we welcome the new provisions.''
Launching the proposals yesterday, Home Office Minister David Maclean said that they were expected to result in no more than 10 prosecutions a year.
However, he hoped that legislation would have ``an important deterrent affect'' on British abusers, who he said were ``fifth or sixth in the world league table for this grubby activity''. Mr Maclean added: ``There should be no escape for those depraved people who commit sexual offences against children whether in this country or abroad. These measures will allow such criminals to be prosecuted in the UK.
``Acting on conspiracy and incitement will also help to control the activities of foreign extremists who use this country as a base to plan or encourage criminal acts abroad.''
Victims, witnesses and police in child sex cases could be flown to the UK or give evidence via satellite video link in trials which are expected to cost twice as much as those for similar crimes committed in Britain, he said.
Mr Maclean called on countries plagued by sex tourism to tackle the problem by closing down brothels and prosecuting abusers.
Abusers were aware that some countries, which were nurturing a profitable tourism industry, may turn a blind eye to their activities, he added.
Tory MP Michael Alison (Selby) who has lobbied the Government for action on sex tourism, welcomed the announcement. He described the proposals as ``impressively comprehensive and imaginative'' and said they would make Britain ``probably the world's leading potential protagonist against the perpetration of such offences''.
Shadow Home Secretary Jack Straw claimed the announcement ``represents a 180-degree turn by the Government''.
Mr Straw said: ``The Government must now explain why they have dragged their feet on this issue for so long.''
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