Police and Justice Bill

My Lords, I have a question for the Minister based on personal experience. I am prompted to ask it by her mentioning the closing of loopholes. In March 1980, I was commanding the brigade in Belfast. We surrounded a house in which there was an IRA gun team who had killed a number of RUC men over the preceding months. In achieving their surrender, an extremely gallant young officer of mine, Captain Richard Westmacott, was unfortunately killed by this team. I eyeballed the four gunmen as they were taken out of the house to prison. They were tried at the Crumlin courthouse the next year. After they were found guilty of murder, there was a mass escape from the Crumlin and large number of them got away to America. It was 11 years before we succeeded in obtaining the extradition of Doherty, the leader of that team. Each and every time we asked, the Americans claimed that the murder of Captain Westmacott had been a political crime and they therefore refused to extradite. We are told that we are now deeply involved in a war on terrorism. Can the Minister assure me that, under these arrangements, this sort of loophole will be closed and British victims of crime will be able to see justice done in future?