http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main. ... p_12072006

7,457 readers tell Blair to intervene today
By Christopher Hope and Russell Hotten
(Filed: 12/07/2006)
Audio: Damian Reece on the NatWest 3
The NatWest Three are set for a courtroom battle to win their freedom on bail almost as soon as they arrive in America.



Christopher Hope, Damian Reece and Russell Hotten, deliver the open letters to the Home Office


The three former bankers - David Bermingham, Giles Darby and Gary Mulgrew - will be extradited tomorrow morning to face fraud charges, which they deny.
It emerged yesterday that the three men will be in court on Friday for a "contested bail hearing" where the two sides will attempt to agree bail terms.
Sources in Houston said the trio are likely to be presented to court on Friday afternoon, manacled and in green prison uniform. The three men were said to be "miles apart on valuation" of bail terms with the Houston authorities, which are thought to be asking for $1m (£540,000) each and the deeds to their houses. One said: "They are asking for as much as they can get."
The fear now is that if the two sides cannot agree the three men will be languishing in a Texan jail by the weekend.
Mark Spragg, the lawyer for the three men, said: "They are saying that because one of them has a house that is quite valuable then he should put up more money. It does not follow at all. What they are doing is grinding them down. The US authorities are starving them of the money to pay their lawyers."
Separately, the Home Office admitted it had no idea how many UK citizens were among a list of other people wanted by the US. It said America had sought the extradition of 19 people for alleged financial crimes since 2004. But a spokesman admitted officials did not know how many were British citizens. The Government is trying to find out how many were British, "but it would take time", he added.
James Brokenshire, a Tory MP who has campaigned to amend the Extradition Act, said he was amazed by the admission. "It is the sort of simple information they should have at their fingertips. It reflects the chaos at the Home Office and its failure to protect UK citizens."
Tony Blair is under unprecedented pressure from the business world to stop the extradition of the NatWest Three.
Yesterday The Daily Telegraph handed in an open letter to Home Secretary John Reid, signed by 7,457 readers, urging him to intervene. Business leaders are outraged that America has failed to ratify its side of new extradition rules, allowing US authorities to extradite UK executives without offering evidence in court.
Sir Digby Jones, the former CBI director general, warned: "It is going to take a long, long time for the business community to forgive the Government for this."