The Pavilion MP has called for an immediate enquiry after an admission by the Crown Prosecution Service that evidence it should have received in order to make a decision on a controversial extradition case was first sent to the United States instead.

Babar Ahmad, a British citizen who has been held without charge or trial for over seven years and is fighting extradition to the US over terrorism allegations, has so far been denied a UK trial by the CPS on the grounds that there was not enough evidence.

But in a shocking turn of events, last night Babar's lawyer received a letter from the CPS, admitting - for the first time - that it was never given the full evidence, save for ‘a few documents'. This appears to mean that the bulk of the evidence was shipped straight to the US by the Police.

Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate on extradition today, Caroline demanded a full inquiry into the handling of the case.

She said:

"The fact that we have a British citizen entering his eighth year of being held, without charge and trial, in a maximum security prison right here on UK soil - at the behest of the US - represents a shocking failure of the British justice system.

"All of those working to secure a UK trial for Babar Ahmad and stop his extradition to the US had previously been led to believe that the CPS had seen all of the evidence needed to make a decision about whether a trial would be possible.

"It is my understanding that the CPS may have known that they didn't have all the evidence, yet they have let Babar Ahmad languish in prison with the threat of extradition, falsely believing that all the evidence against him had been considered. This is appalling."

Caroline continued: "The revelations raise very serious questions about why evidence that should have been given to the CPS was not, and why Babar wasn't told. Who directed and authorised this circumvention of the CPS apparently in deference to, and at the behest of, the US?

"Babar Ahmad, his family and the 140,000-plus people who signed the Government e-petition to grant Babar a trial in his own country now deserve answers."

ENDS