Norris v Government of the United States of America & Anor

Facts

The appellant, Ian Norris, a British national born on 15 February 1943, was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Crucible plc, a manufacturer of carbon products based in Windsor with subsidiaries in the United States. In April 1999 the United States Government began investigating price-fixing in the carbon industry. According to the deposition of Lucy P McClain of the antitrust division of the US Department of Justice, Morgan and companies in France, Germany and Austria had agreed to suppress competition by fixing prices, and after a federal grand jury subpoena was served the appellant directed the removal, concealment or destruction of documents, the creation of false summaries of price-fixing meetings and a rehearsed 'script' to be used with investigators. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania indicted him for obstruction of justice on 24 September 2003, adding price-fixing by superseding indictment, and a second superseding indictment followed on 28 September 2004 containing one price-fixing count and three obstruction counts. He was arrested here on 13 January 2005; District Judge Evans sent the case to the Secretary of State and this court dismissed his appeals, but the House of Lords held in 2008 that price-fixing was not then an offence under English law and remitted the section 87(1) of the Extradition Act 2003 question to a district judge. District Judge Evans again sent the case on 25 July 2008 and the Secretary of State ordered extradition on 23 September 2008.