David Ruffley MP has written to the Prime Minister, along with other backbenchers, demanding an 'opt out' of 130 measures under the EU's crime and policing plan. His letter is published in The Daily Telegraph (Monday 6 February). This repatriation of police powers includes the European Arrest Warrant and the requirement for DNA and Fingerprints to be shared with European police, and justice laws will continue apply beyond December 2014.

David Ruffley MP said: 'It is important that the UK retains its national sovereignty when it concerns justice and democratic control over crime and policing. If the UK decides to keep these laws as they currently stand, full jurisdiction over them will be transferred to Europe. Once these powers are gone, they will be gone forever. This would mean that EU judges would have the last word on important matters concerning the British justice systems, for example, the mechanism for extraditing British citizens to other member states.

There must be no unnecessary interference in what would be matters for English courts, not the European court of justice. Responsibility for protecting our citizens must rest with our own institutions- our government, our Parliament and out courts. The exercise by Britain of its 'opt out' from 130 measures should curb the ability of the European Court of Justice to make decisions which unnecessarily interfere with Britain's sovereignty and national policy making.'