On 10 May, 12:45, "Colonel Colt" wrote:
> "TimB" wrote in message
>
> news:be41f1be-7260-442a-9786-76c33c220029@24g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
>
> > You seem to have missed the point. The law as I understand it is this:
>
> > - You can have . with anyone aged 16 or over in the UK
> > - If you go to a country where the age of consent is, say, 14, and
> > have . with a 14 year old, you commit no offence locally, but will
> > be arrested under UK law when you return home, despite having
> > committed no crime either in the UK or the country you visited.
> > - If you go on holiday with your 16 year old girlfriend, and have .,
> > you can be arrested on your return, despite the act being legal in
> > both the UK and the country you visited.
>
> Would this I wonder apply to a foreign national who came to the UK on
> holiday. He has a 14 year girlfriend, with whom he has . perfectly
> lawfully in his own country, yet if he visited the UK then he is at risk of
> prosecution? I suppose the only saving grace is that in such circumstances
> there is next to no chance of the authorities in the UK finding out.
In that situation, he commits an offence under UK law anyway, and is
subject to UK law. That's all well and good, and I don't think anyone
has argued that local laws shouldn't apply to visitors. What is being
said is that UK laws should not apply outside the UK, and we certainly
should not have acts which are legal in the UK, legal in the host
country, but illegal under UK law if committed outside the UK. |