Today's Home Office coverage of interest includes stories on the centenary of women's suffrage, and Lauri Love's appeal against extradition to the US.
Centenary of women’s suffrage
Today marks the centenary of the passing of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, which allowed women over the age of 30 who owned property to vote.
The Government has invested £5million to mark the occasion, funding celebrations across the UK.
The Telegraph, Guardian and Mirror (print) are among the publications that cover the centenary.
The Fawcett Society is quoted in The Telegraph calling for the Home Secretary to pardon the convictions of suffragettes who were jailed. During a media round this morning, Amber Rudd said she would look into this issue, but added it was not “as straightforward as people might think” to legally pardon people for offences such as arson.
According to a survey in the Mirror, women still don’t feel like they’re being treated equally, with pay high on the list of concerns.
A quote from the Government on the centenary can be found below.
A Government spokesperson said:
The centenary of the first women winning the right to vote is an important democratic milestone that the Government has committed £5 million to help celebrate.
This will pay for a series of events and projects throughout the centenary year, with £1.2 million already awarded to towns and cities with a strong history of suffrage. £60,000 has been granted to smaller scale celebrations, many of which will coincide with the anniversary of the Act of Parliament that first gave some women the right to vote.
Extradition of Lauri Love
The Times, Guardian and Mail are among the papers covering the Lauri Love’s successful appeal against US extradition.
All carry comments from Mr Love, expressing his relief over not being extradited and his wish for a precedent establishing that people accused of a crime should be tried in their home country.
See below for Home Office’s response to the story.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
The Home Secretary has no legal discretion to consider human rights issues in extradition cases and has had no involvement in these court proceedings.
Mr Love appealed only against the decision of the District Judge that none of the bars to extradition applied. The District Judge’s considerations included Mr Love’s health, human rights issues and whether it is the interests of justice for a prosecution to take place in the UK - the forum bar.
The High Court has ruled against the District Judge’s decision and in favour of Mr Love.