Leaving the European Union would be dangerous for Britain, and could compromise the safety of Cambridgeshire people, claims an MEP.

Terrorists, robbers and rapists who commit crimes in Britain but flee to mainland Europe, would evade justice, the Cambridgeshire Labour Euro MP said at the launch of the ‘Britain Stronger In’ national campaign event.

Labour’s Richard Howitt MEP heard first hand from Britain’s former police chief Sir Hugh Orde, how the loss of the European Arrest Warrant would make it more expensive, complex and bureaucratic for Britain outside rather than inside the European Union.

Mr Howitt said: “Whether it’s the fight against crime, or the fight for trade and business, environmental or transport cooperation, Britain can get a far better deal with the influence of being inside the European Union, rather than negotiating a maze of separate agreements from outside.

“The message from this launch is that Europe helps you to be more prosperous, the younger generation to have more life chances, your job or business to be more secure, but it helps protect the safety of you and your family too.

“The true crime is if Britain leaves the European Union.”

He said that currently, when a foreign national is arrested in Europe, British police are automatically informed and a suspect for British crime sent for trial in a British court without the need for long and often unsuccessful extradition proceedings.

The Labour Euro MP said the 21/7 terrorist bomber would not have come back from Italy to face trial in Britain without Britain’s membership of the European Union.

“The reasons for Britain remaining in the European Union are essentially positive, with our country being more prosperous, diverse and outward-looking,” he said.