Royal Navy may be forced to free captured pirates

Ministers were warned last year over legal problems that mean criminal gangs cannot be prosecuted By Brian Brady, Whitehall Editor Pirates captured by Royal Navy warships patrolling off East Africa may have to be set free because there is no international agreement over where they can be legally prosecuted. Internal Foreign Office documents seen by The Independent on Sunday lay bare the behind-the-scenes wrangling that could neuter the UK-led effort against the growing problem of pirates terrorising vessels in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The collection of memos and briefing notes detail critical problems with Operation Atalanta since it was hurriedly agreed by the European Union last November in response to a series of high-profile pirate attacks around the Horn of Africa. Although the UK volunteered to... [read full story]                    

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