Retired British businessman Christopher Tappin was today flying to a notorious jail in Texas to await trial after losing his two-year battle against extradition.

Mr Tappin, who is accused of conspiring to sell components for Iranian missiles, met marshals at Heathrow police station before being flown to the U.S. where he could face 35 years in jail.

Mr Tappin, 65, said this morning that he had fewer rights than the extremist hate preacher Abu Qatada who has been allowed to stay in the UK. Qatada was once described by a judge as Osama Bin Laden's right hand man in Europe.

Touching a walking stick with his weeping wife Elaine at his side, Mr Tappin said today that his treatment had been a 'disgrace'.

Moments later he was ushered onto a waiting jet where he was handcuffed. He will land at 4pm and spend the evening in a notorious deep south prison 'run by gangs' as he awaits trial.

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Emotional: Christopher Tappin, with his wife Elaine, outside Heathrow police station today in what could be one of the last times he is on British soil

Mr Tappin's wife Elaine breaks down in tears. Right, Mr Tappin prepares for the long flight as

Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1nKTY4PIK

have the USA goverment gone to far ' to rule the world ' , why can they UK goverment send this man abroad, when we cant even send terrroists back ? mind boggles

I can't summon up too much sympathy for Mr Tappin, but I really don't understand why Britain gave way over Abu Qatada. It seems so obvious that someone like him must either be kept in preventive detention, or expelled. Why we should listen to the UN, the US, the EU or anyone else on how we run our justice system is beyond me.

I can't summon up too much sympathy for Mr Tappin, but I really don't understand why Britain gave way over Abu Qatada. It seems so obvious that someone like him must either be kept in preventive detention, or expelled. Why we should listen to the UN, the US, the EU or anyone else on how we run our justice system is beyond me.

As a Yank, I agree with your last sentiment wholeheartedly.

Me too.

Like you mean, two Americans on ThaiVisa actually agree with me about what the UK should do? Wonders will never cease!

Terrorism is something which concerns all of us. If we allow terrorists to be treated as heroes, or something special, we are encouraging it. We should make it clear that we see them as the scum of the earth... and as betrayers of the fine religion they claim to represent. (This is no time to get wobbly!)

Life is such fun!

but didnt the USA sell arms to Iran back in the 70's and 80's? , these guy owned a courier company, and was couriering packages from the USA to Iran , and they where BATTERIES !, how on earth was he supposed to know !, so if i sell some batteries on ebay to a terroist whom i didnt know was a terroist, and they use it for a bomb, does that make me guilty of taking part?

but didnt the USA sell arms to Iran back in the 70's and 80's? , these guy owned a courier company, and was couriering packages from the USA to Iran , and they where BATTERIES !, how on earth was he supposed to know !, so if i sell some batteries on ebay to a terroist whom i didnt know was a terroist, and they use it for a bomb, does that make me guilty of taking part?

protect yourself by demanding from the terrorist a statement in lieu of an oath that the batteries are for the walkman of his 12-year old daughter and that no plans whatsoever exist to use the walkman for terrorist activities. as simple as that.

to be 100% on the safe side the statement should be consularised by a British Consulate/High Commission or Embassy.

but didnt the USA sell arms to Iran back in the 70's and 80's? , these guy owned a courier company, and was couriering packages from the USA to Iran , and they where BATTERIES !, how on earth was he supposed to know !, so if i sell some batteries on ebay to a terroist whom i didnt know was a terroist, and they use it for a bomb, does that make me guilty of taking part?

I'm sure that will all come out in court, but I would imagine there is more to it than the simplistic explanation that you have offered.

but didnt the USA sell arms to Iran back in the 70's and 80's? , these guy owned a courier company, and was couriering packages from the USA to Iran , and they where BATTERIES !, how on earth was he supposed to know !, so if i sell some batteries on ebay to a terroist whom i didnt know was a terroist, and they use it for a bomb, does that make me guilty of taking part?

The US sold helicopters to Iran during the 70's but the contract ended with the return of Khomaini in January 1979. They sold nothing to Iran in the 80's after the Iranian takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran.

Following is a link to various missile batteries. I don't think you will find them on ebay.

http://www.google.co...ved=0CC4QsAQ4Cg

Edit in: The UK sold quite a few Chieftan tanks and APCs to Iran during that same time frame.

Following is a link to various missile batteries. I don't think you will find them on ebay.

He's been accused of selling batteries for missiles not batteries of missiles although I suspect they're just as specialised. I don't think you can stick 2 AAs into a missile and expect it to take off.

But the FBI used a sting (entrapment) to catch this guy - in other words he was approached and agreed to act in concert with the people who trapped him.

Such methods are illegal in the UK.

Al Qatada is not allowed to be repatriated to Jordan because of the possibility that the methods used to obtain evidence against him in Jordan (i.e. torture) are illegal in the UK.

How does the government explain this?

Like with Bliar and other Prime Ministers of the UK, they just drop their trousers and bend over whenever the US President coughs.

Well I guess he can be grateful he was not just targeted by a drone for removal.....Or that he even has Habeas Corpus extended to him as many do not.

Could also be grateful he is not being waterboarded for answers as to where he got the batteries & if anyone else has any....

Yeah Terrorism.....Hard to tell who is who without a decoder ring these days

We kept Abu Qatada here so that the Thaivisa Moaning Pensioners Brigade would have something to moan about. You could call it a type of public service.

At least Abu Qatada want's to live here.

Ok....here come's my sensible head, you don't often see it but here goes anyway.

Yes I agree that the US can extradite people on the flimsiest of evidence.

Yes I also agree that the treaty in extradition treaty in place just now is one sided.

I agree that the US seems to want to police the world, and I believe they have working under a state of emergency for 10 years.

I don't like it.......it seems excessive......every libertarian argument is battered with the anti-terrorism sledgehammer.

However!!........so far they seem to be bringing successful prosecutions.....I can remember the same tearful airport scenes with the Natwest Three, ( also known as the Enron Three ). As soon as they got to the US they dropped the act and admitted the fraud charge was correct. One of the guys was Scottish, the son of an MP, and he has since held his hand up and come clean.

The other Scotsman, Gary McKinnon, that broke into the Pentagon computer network repeatedly has also admitted his guilt, Now his family are trying to get him out of being extradited claiming that he has Autism. If he is bright enough to hack the Pentagon, then he is bright enough to stand trial.

This guy has just played the woe is me, big bad FBI card.........these guys hire PR agents to try to get the public on his side. If he is innocent, then he will be found not guilty. What's the chances he is innocent? slim.

This is a brief summary of "missile batteries" from Wikipedia. I know how so many of you feel about Wiki...but if you can believe the Daily Mail, give it a try on Wikipedia in this case. OK?

"US federal authorities allege Tappin tried to buy five Eagle-Picher batteries between December 2005 and January 2007. The batteries, which were to be exported from the United States to Iran via the Netherlands, are part of the electronics of the Hawk Missile. In November 1985, 18 Hawks were shipped to Iran during the Reagan Administration. Tappin maintains as the exporter he thought he was buying car batteries. [2] The US maintains that the batteries were to be exported to Tehran without the necessary US government approval.'

The "batteries" in question are considered classified defense materials and, as such, are covered under the Arms Export Control Act. His claiming they were automobile batteries is hardly a credible defense, particularly considering two other co-defendants have already been convicted of their complicity in the sale. Radars, guidance systems, etc. would also be considered classified articles.

My confusion on the "batteries" issue came from reading somewhere he was charged with dealing in batteries "of" missiles and reading another time of dealing in batteries "for" missiles. One small word but a world of difference.

http://en.wikipedia....istopher_Tappin

The "batteries" in question are considered classified defense materials and, as such, are covered under the Arms Export Control Act.

Makes one wonder then..... If these things are considered classified defense materials......How are they even sold before being re-sold without proper papers?

Wouldn't "

Abu Qatada Has More Rights Than Me! British alleged sanctions buster Arrives At Heathrow To Be Taken To U.S. For Trial"

be a more relevant headline. I read through the story, and could see nothing about golf, or golf clubs.

If not, do you think if I started helping out at the local kids' rugby sessions, I could smuggle a bit of grass?

What sporting activities would help if I wanted to further my career as a tax dodger?

This just seems like a further attempt by the Daily Mail to stir up predjudice and bigotry. With newspapers like that, I can see why so many of my fellow countrymen choose to leave, even when they don't have jobs to go to

SC

I know I've made fun of the Daily Mail in the past, but do you realise that without Boater and the Daily Mail, OTB would only have half as many threads?

It's foolish but it's fun! You don't actually have to believe it.

I know I've made fun of the Daily Mail in the past, but do you realise that without Boater and the Daily Mail, OTB would only have half as many threads?

It's foolish but it's fun! You don't actually have to believe it.

I know I've made fun of the Daily Mail in the past, but do you realise that without Boater and the Daily Mail, OTB would only have half as many threads?

It's foolish but it's fun! You don't actually have to believe it.

I think some of our bretheren on this forum and in our home country believe it to be a newspaper, and not a wry satire. I fully believe that some people may take it seriously, and adopt or share the opinions it espouses.

SC

Watching BBc News at Ten last night it struck me as odd to have the lead article devoted to two Americans shot dead in Afghanistan followed by some five minute report on the Murdoch empire including a nice plug for his "new" newspaper.

No mention of any extraditions surprisingly....

Watching BBc News at Ten last night it struck me as odd to have the lead article devoted to two Americans shot dead in Afghanistan followed by some five minute report on the Murdoch empire including a nice plug for his "new" newspaper.

No mention of any extraditions surprisingly....

I don't think its particularly big news. People get extradited every day.

SC

This is a brief summary of "missile batteries" from Wikipedia. I know how so many of you feel about Wiki...but if you can believe the Daily Mail, give it a try on Wikipedia in this case. OK?

"US federal authorities allege Tappin tried to buy five Eagle-Picher batteries between December 2005 and January 2007. The batteries, which were to be exported from the United States to Iran via the Netherlands, are part of the electronics of the Hawk Missile. In November 1985, 18 Hawks were shipped to Iran during the Reagan Administration. Tappin maintains as the exporter he thought he was buying car batteries. [2] The US maintains that the batteries were to be exported to Tehran without the necessary US government approval.'

The "batteries" in question are considered classified defense materials and, as such, are covered under the Arms Export Control Act. His claiming they were automobile batteries is hardly a credible defense, particularly considering two other co-defendants have already been convicted of their complicity in the sale. Radars, guidance systems, etc. would also be considered classified articles.

My confusion on the "batteries" issue came from reading somewhere he was charged with dealing in batteries "of" missiles and reading another time of dealing in batteries "for" missiles. One small word but a world of difference.

http://en.wikipedia....istopher_Tappin

A quick internet search finds the Eagle-Picher website and the batteries, which don't seem like anything other than normal car batteries and similar.

Our Products

EaglePicher offers a portfolio of rechargeable Sealed Lead Acid Carefree batteries and non-rechargeable Lithium Thionyl Chloride Keeper batteries, and other power solutions for business, industrial, and recreational applications. Our products deliver longer life, higher rates, faster charge, better energy density, and they can be custom packaged to meet almost any requirement. More>

http://www.epcompower.com/

The guy was set-up by the FBI because of his stupidity and their policy of trying to make cases out of thin air.

Several of the recent terrorist cases in the US have been based upon the FBI finding a victim, providing him with terrorist-type materials and then arresting him. In the UK those agents would themselves be jailed, not the victim.

And in response to another post, the reason people plead guilty in these types of case is because the sentence is far shorter than if they plead not guilty and are later found guilty. Remember these people are not guys with extremely rich wives, so they cannot bribe the judge and prosecutors as DSK did.

Yeah the whole US system is designed to favour the rich and encourage the poor to plead guilty for lesser sentences.

The "batteries" in question are considered classified defense materials and, as such, are covered under the Arms Export Control Act.

The American enforced ITAR regulations will come back to haunt them. Many companies have been fined huge amounts and are now looking at sourcing component parts from elsewhere due to controls that have been put in place. Some of these rules are simply ridiculous and this WILL eventually affect American jobs.

My confusion on the "batteries" issue came from reading somewhere he was charged with dealing in batteries "of" missiles and reading another time of dealing in batteries "for" missiles.

Were both he and the batteries charged

Justice, US-style: Golf club pensioner manacled, given 'high-risk' jumpsuit and locked in windowless cell

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2109840/Justice-US-style-golf-club-pensioner-manacled-given-high-risk-jumpsuit-locked-windowless-cell.html#ixzz1o94sl8pY

Barbaric and the Americans should be ashamed. If he is found guilty then fine but at the moment he is only accused.

He made a big mistake asking for protective custody.

But what were the choices he had? Rock and a hard place really.

I dislike that nasal whine. The uk should just say no to the yanks and charge him themselves

Oh hang on...he's not broken any uk laws. Silly me!