UK to restrict citizens' right to seek war crime arrests

Britain said on Thursday it would restrict its citizens' right to seek war crimes arrests, after diplomatic protests over a warrant for the arrest of Israeli ex-foreign minister Tzipi Livni for the Gaza offensive.

Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw said the government planned to remove the ability to seek arrest warrants for war crimes from individual citizens and restrict it to state prosecutors. He said this would bring Britain in line with most other countries, where only prosecutors can seek arrest warrants in such circumstances. (Reuters)